They Say She Talks to Angels
by TenshiNoEcho
Summary: This is a story that I wrote around two years ago and had posted on my old account. I forgot the password to it, so I decided I would repost it on here. This is a Byakuya Kuchiki X OC love story. I hope you all enjoy it! :)
1. Chapter 1: The Walking Dead!

Chapter 1: The Walking Dead?!

"Hey mute kid! You're in my seat!" a classmate of mine yells in my face, breaking me from my thoughts. I merely looked up at him with my big ice blue eyes with a complete stone face, not angry, not sad, not upset, but just blank. He flinched back but seemed determined to make me move. I'm not all that threatening I think at least. I have lavender, curly hair that goes down to my waist and bangs that are always getting in my eyes. He's right though I don't typically talk, at least not to people at school. They don't understand me, so I don't waste my breath. It's not that I dislike them or anything. I just don't want to waste either of our times. My silence seemed to further infuriate my classmate, and he responded in his anger by pushing me out of the seat and to the ground. My head hit the blunt edge of an adjacent desk, and I tasted blood in my mouth as I bit my tongue to avoid crying out.

"Oi, Oshima! Leave the poor girl alone! She wasn't doing anything wrong," I heard a voice say. I turned to see one of my fellow classmates, but I didn't know his name. He had carrot top hair and a look of annoyance on his face with his book bag slung over his shoulder. See, I recently moved to this school about 2 weeks ago, and I had no desire to know anyone here because I figured I wouldn't be staying here that long anyways. Oshima glared at the carrot top fellow before huffing and stomping out of the room. The boy who stood up for me approached me and held a hand out to me to help me. I merely stood up on my own. I didn't mean any offense, and it was nice to see that my classmate wasn't offended as he shrugged.

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki. Your name is Shinkiro Ogawa right? We're in the same class," the guy introduced himself nonchalantly. I merely nodded slightly, confirming that he had to my name right. This guy seemed…different than the other people at this school, not in the whole I think he's kind of cute kind of way or anything. I just mean his aura or lack thereof… Oh yeah I forgot to mention the people I do talk to are more like spirits or as I've always called them "the angels". Only these angels aren't clothed in white or have wings or halos or anything. They wear black and white robes and carry swords that change into different forms. I've only met a handful of them though. I see various other spirits that aren't like this at all. I'm not devoutly religious or anything which probably makes very little sense to most people because I wear a small silver cross around my neck. I call these people angels because I've seen them take down these giant demon-looking things with white masks and holes in their chests. So yeah, long story short, I can see dead people and talk to them. I know I know totally unoriginal right? But I can also see auras around the living and the dead that mirror their emotions, except around myself and now this Ichigo person. I guess I must have been staring though because Kurosaki-san seemed a little weirded out.

"Hey Ogawa-san, it's lunch time. If you'd like, you can come eat lunch with me and my friends. I can make sure that Oshima doesn't mess with you again," Ichigo said walking off not waiting for my response. That was probably a good idea on his part, and he probably realized I didn't have much else of a choice. I really had enough bruises without dealing with some oversized testosterone imbalanced oaf. Either way, I followed Ichigo up to the roof where his friends already were. My eyes widened. There were four people whose auras I couldn't see out of all the people on the roof. One of them was a girl who had dark hair that went down to right past her shoulders. The other girl I couldn't see the aura of was large chested and had insanely long straight orange hair. The boy who I couldn't see the aura of was a large dark skinned man with curly dark hair. The other boy who I couldn't see the aura of was guy with dark red hair and black tattoos all over his face. I could feel my pulse rising in alarm. I wasn't use to this, but I couldn't help myself. I was curious. I had to get to know these people. This meant I had to…talk to them…

"Shinkiro-chan! Hi!" the orange haired girl exclaimed running up to me hugging me tightly and taking me even more by surprise. The other members of the group sweat dropped at the girl's obvious obliviousness to my more than a little obvious discomfort with the bone crushing hug.

"Orihime-san, put Ogawa-san down. She can't breathe, and she's very obviously uncomfortable," a purple-haired guy with glasses stated matter of factly. Orihime released me, and I took a few deep breaths. The hug itself wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't had a couple of bruised ribs before that due to an "accident" that happened at home.

"Oh my gosh! Thanks for telling me Uryu-kun! I would've never noticed. I was just so excited about Shinkiro-chan eating lunch with us!" Orihime responded to the guy I personally noted to remember was Uryu. I nodded my thanks towards Uryu before sitting on the edge of the roof and looking out across Karakura Town. It really did seem like a rather peaceful place up here.

"Excuse me, Ogawa-san is it?" a female voice broke me out of my thoughts. I looked over and saw the dark-haired girl I noticed earlier, the one with no aura. Wait a minute… I recognize her. She's one of the angels I've seen around here before. Now that I think about it… Ichigo looks like one of them too! But I hadn't talked to Ichigo yet… It didn't make sense. None of these people were dead. They can't be angels…


	2. Chapter 2: At the End of the Day

Chapter 2: At the End of the Day

They can't be angels. They aren't dead. I don't know what to do. Please don't panic, Shinkiro. This is not the time to be panicking! Oh yeah. Rukia, the dark-haired girl, was talking to me.

"Are you alright, Ogawa-chan? You look faint. I should take you to the nurse," Rukia said in a voice that told me I didn't really have an option despite the deceptive smile on her face. I just nodded nervously and followed her as she went down the stairs. She led me all the way off campus and to a clearing in the woods outside of Karakura Town. I don't know why I continued to follow her, but I felt like I could trust her. Perhaps because I recognized her as an angel? I have no clue but I did. Suddenly, we came to a stop. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I almost ran the more petit girl over.

"Who are you really, Shinkiro Ogawa?" Rukia demanded as her body dropped and she came out in her normal angel gear. I just looked between her body and her spirit body thingy. I couldn't register what just happened. "Now is not the time to be silent! Who are you?" she shouted.

I jumped and swallowed before steadying myself to speak.

"My name is Shinkiro Ogawa. I'm 18 years old, but I can see spirits and angels like you," I said my voice very weak at first due to disuse but getting stronger the more I used it, "I'm not an enemy. I'm not one of those demon-like monsters I've seen you and other angels kill. I'm just a human with one weird ability." I finished and looked at her as she stared me down trying to determine whether or not I was telling the truth. She also looked confused.

"We are not angels, Shinkiro-chan. Do you mind if I call you that?" she began and I shook my head. It had been a long time since someone had even wanted to call me that, and it made me really happy I guess is the word. "We are not angels, Shinkiro-chan. We are called Shinigami or soul reapers. We reap the souls of hollows, those creatures you called demons. We also send spirits to the soul society, so they can pass on from this world to the Soul Society," Rukia explained, "You obviously have some insanely high spirit energy if you can see all of us so easily and pick us out even in our gigai." I tilted my head to the side in confusion at the word "gigai". She motioned to her limp body below her, "It's like a skin suit that allows soul reapers to blend in with humans and allows us to interact with them." I nodded in understanding.

"So, what next?" I asked nervously, "You're not going to hurt me or anything are you?" Rukia looked at me shocked and shook her head violently.

"Of course not! You've done nothing wrong. You're just different is all," Rukia said smiling kindly at me, "It's not a bad thing at all. I'm just curious about why. Many people here have such high spirit energy because of exposure to Ichigo. But you're new here, and you've had insanely high spirit energy before you came here I'm willing to bet." I sighed and laughed lightly.

"I'm different. Huh… Never noticed it myself," I said quietly, sarcasm dripping from my voice, then laughed again. Then I noticed something. It was getting dark. "S***!" I muttered, "I'm sorry Rukia-san, but I have to go home. Now." Without waiting for here to respond, I bolted away from the clearing as fast I could. I had to get home. I was going to be in so much trouble when I got home.

-The Ogawa Residence-

I tried to be quiet and brace myself as I slowly opened my front door. All the lights were off. Maybe they've already drank themselves to sleep or something. Maybe they got sick of waiting up for me and went to sleep. Maybe… A light switched on. "There you are you little bitch!" Nope. No luck for me tonight. I sighed silently and stepped the rest of the way into the house and shut the door behind me. No use running. It would only make things worse. They might actually kill me if I even thought about that. I looked up and came into a contact with a fist as my "dad" punched me in the face as hard as he could into the edge of the kitchen counter. I could already taste blood inside my mouth. This was going to be a really bad night.

My thoughts were interrupted by a kick by a steel toed boot into my already bruised ribs. I heard a snapping sound as a couple of them broke. I wasn't able to hold back a small whimper, and as soon as it came out of my mouth, I knew I would regret it. I always regretted it. If I made noise, it only encouraged them. A devilish cackle confirmed my thoughts as I heard my "mom" snickering after her cackling was done. I said nothing as I got kicked again, this time in my face.

"Come on you little bitch. Get up!" she yelled, and I knew better to go against her. Using all my strength, I pushed myself off the floor to where I was standing straight. This sent a searing pain through my now broken ribs, but I knew better than to show it. Instead, I looked my "parents" straight in the eyes. These two adopted me fourteen years ago and have beaten me within an inch of my life almost every day for the past ten years. I know why they hate me. It is my fault after all. That's all I remind myself of as my mom gets a knife off of the kitchen counter. I looked her in the face, unapologetically. She glared at me and moved towards and drags the blade across my arm with enough force to cut a long, deep slash up the inside of my left forearm all the way to my shoulder where she cut a deep swirl into my shoulder. I watched without flinching as a pool of my blood began to form on the floor. This seemed to irritate my parents even more until my dad got a sick sort of idea.

"We better clean that gash on your arm, so it doesn't get infected," he says with a wicked grin that would make any sane person shiver in fear. I was shivering, but it wasn't due to fear. It was due to blood loss. My dad quickly left the hall and came back with a bottle of rubbing alcohol. My mom broke into a wide sadistic grin before taking the bottle.

"Hold out your arm, you stupid whore!" she demanded, and I merely held out my arm that was cut. She wasted no time, pouring the rubbing alcohol onto the gash from the bottom to the top of it. At this, I finally lost it and yelped a little and felt a tear roll down my cheek. The burning sensation was rather new to me. Sure, they had tortured me similar but not in quite such an f'ed up way. I mean they are using the idea that they are doing me a favor by torturing me. I don't understand. I was broken out of my agony in my head by a more obvious agony as my dad took a match and a cigarette and pulled down my uniform socks. He dragged the burning cigarette down my leg from under my skirt down to my ankle. He did that to both of my legs, and finally, I began to fade out of consciousness, not until I felt a stab in my abdomen. I cried out before finally falling to the floor. I heard cackling that faded as my parents finally decided they were done. I looked up in surprise to see an angel, oh I mean a soul reaper. It was the red-haired guy from earlier. I smiled slightly as I finally lost consciousness.


	3. Chapter 3: It's All About Perspective

Chapter 3: It's All about Perspective

"Shinkiro-chan… Shinkiro-chan…" I heard a kind voice bring me out of consciousness. I opened my eyes slowly to see Rukia standing over me in her soul reaper uniform on with a very familiar face with black shoulder length hair with feathers coming off of it.

"Y-yumichika-kun…" I sputtered coughing as I sat up. I flinched badly as I looked at the hand I covered my hand with. There was blood in it. Oh joy. Another one of those days. Wait a minute.

"W-why are you here?" I stuttered nervously trying to hide how much pain I was in and avoid their very serious gazes, "I-I fell… Down the stairs… Onto the knife that was on the floor…" I could hear Rukia shaking her head in disbelief, and Yumichika came over and gave me a hug. I should explain how I know this egomaniac.

I've moved exactly fifty times since I was adopted. In one of the towns, my parents beat me worse than they did last night. I was in the hospital in a coma for two weeks, but my spirit was free minus this annoying chain sticking out of my chest. Yumichika was there the whole time. He would come and visit me every day. He had explained that he was there to protect me from the bad spirits that I called demons, but he never corrected me.

Looking back, as bad as it sounds, I'm pretty sure he was just waiting for me to die, but he sure didn't act like it. In fact, he encouraged me every day to hold onto my life as hard as possible despite how tough it was. He explained that he wanted to stop what my parents were doing to me, but his job would not allow him. He would always talk about beauty and such which made me always think he was gay honestly.

Yumichika stayed my friend after I woke up from my coma. During my therapy to be able to walk again and be able to heal, he would come each day and stand by me and keep me company. I don't know why he did it, but I thanked him every chance I could. In a way, he was one of the main reason I called these soul reapers angels.

However, after we moved from that town, he told me I wouldn't see him again for a long time, because I was moving somewhere he wasn't able to help protect. Seeing him comforted me, but I didn't want Rukia to know about my home life. I kept on a ruse of being okay, just quiet. I didn't want to see that fall apart around me. I wouldn't let it.

"Kiro-chan, we need to get you to a hospital," Yumichika said softly, "You're in worse shape than when I met you. If you stay here, you'll die." I shook my head. Death would kind of be a relief at this point. As though reading my mind, Rukia looked at me in sheer pity. This for some reason pissed me off. I was not someone who needed to be pitied.

"Wipe that piteous look off of your face, Rukia-san!" I snapped, "I've put up with this crap for fourteen years, and I never needed anyone's sympathy or pity. I'm not dead yet." I glared indignantly at her. I was not one to just give up on everything. She looked shocked, and Yumichika looked a little proud of me honestly. I'm not one to stand up for myself. I'm just not weak, and I hate being treated as such.

"Hmph. I guess it can't be helped then," Rukia said with a proud smirk on her face replacing the gaping mouth that was there seconds earlier, "There's a reason Ayasegawa-san is here with me today. Look down at your body." I looked down and realized the chain sticking out of my chest.

"What the heck?! So y'all are here because I'm dead," I exclaimed obviously alarmed. I noticed my body lying on the ground in a pool of now partially dried blood.

"Then why do I still feel my injuries?" I asked even more annoyed than anything at this point. Geez. I'm having more mood swings than a pregnant woman on her period if such a thing were even possible without something being terribly wrong. Oh wait. Something is terribly wrong: I'm dying!

"Shinkiro-chan! Calm down!" Rukia demanded breaking me out of my trance, "We are here because you have a choice to make. The soul society has apparently been secretly surveying you for about thirteen years. We've had soul reapers report your high spiritual energy since you were five years old, and the council decided after the last time you were put into a coma to give you a choice if this situation ever came up again."

I could see Yumichika trying to hold back his excited smiled, but he was greatly failing. At the same time thought, he looked terrified. What the heck was fixing to happen?

"Um what exactly is my choice?" I asked now insanely nervous. Rukia looked at me very seriously.

"You must choose between dieing and becoming a normal soul, or to allow us to make you into a soul reaper," she says in a very epic sounding voice. Wow. I've never heard someone make dying sound so stinking epic. I really knew I had very little choice, and besides, being an angel?! Oops. I mean soul reaper sounds freaking amazing! At least if I get hurt it will be for a truly good cause.

"I'll become a soul reaper," I said as bravely as I could. Yumichika smiled his approval, but Rukia sighed and unsheathed her sword before cutting the chain in my chest closer to my human body than to my soul body. Yumichika yelled in alarm.

"That's not how I thought we were doing this! She could turn into a hollow!" he exclaimed angrily. Rukia merely glared at him as the links in my chain began eating each other one at a time. What the heck? These chains can eat each other? And man did they have an apetite…

"This is the way we were ordered to do this," Rukia countered back before looking at me with dead seriousness in her eyes, "Shinkiro-chan, you must become a soul reaper before your chain eats its way to your heart, or else you will become a hollow! At most you have two hours!" My eyes widened drastically.

"How the heck am I supposed to do that?" I yelled back, "If I become a hollow you'll have to kill me!" I couldn't believe this. Yumichika looked at me with… Oh no he didn't. I did not need pity from him right now. Or from anyone ever.

"Look inside yourself, Shinkiro-chan. Find your spirit energy and tap into it. That is how you will become a soul reaper," Rukia responds obviously noticing the fire in my eyes.

I closed my eyes and focused. There was a whole lot of darkness, but I kept going deeper. Suddenly, I felt a sort of shimmering feeling across my skin, then it got more and more I guess intense and colder. I moved closer to that feeling and found at what seemed like the center of my being I saw glowing orb that was a mix of deep purple and ice blue. Without really thinking, I reached out and touched it. After that, it felt as if I was frozen and everything went dark.


	4. Chapter 4: Arrogant Pricks & Hair Clips

Chapter 4: Arrogant Pricks & Hair Clips

"Her vitals are normal, Rukia-chan. She should be waking up soon. I wouldn't be surprised if she could hear us now," I heard a kind low voice of a woman say. I stirred slightly wanting to get up and thank her. "Ah. It appears she's waking up now," the voice said as I opened my eyes and slowly sat up.

"Shinkiro-chan, you're awake!" Rukia yelled as she gave me a bone crushing hug causing me to flinch slightly. She pulled away from me after a minute, and I heard a light chuckle from the woman. I looked up to see a kind lady with long black hair that is braided around her neck and in front of her. She seemed really kind, so I gave her a small smile.

"How are you feeling, Ogawa-chan?" the kind lady asked, "I'm Captain Unohana, captain of the fourth division here in the soul society. This is the medical division." I smiled brightly at the lady now and stretched. I was a little sore, but not near as bad as I was. It was a good feeling, like the soreness you get after a workout.

"I feel great Unohana-taicho! Arigato gozaimasu!" I exclaimed happily my voice still soft and raspy from disuse, "Sorry. I don't really talk a lot so my voice is kind of weak." I smiled apologetically, my cheeks turning red in embarrassment. She chuckled again and smiled sweetly at me.

"Well then, I'll be back with your paperwork shortly, and you can leave," she said with a smile and left. Rukia smiled, and I suddenly noticed that we weren't alone. There was a tall man with black hair like Rukia's only he had clippies in it. That's weird… Maybe he's gay… He noticed me looking at him and glared at me. I merely glared back in response.

"What the heck is your problem, sir? Are your clippies in your hair not in right?" I retorted rather rudely, my glare not faltering one bit. His glare intensified, and Rukia looked at me with her jaw dropped.

"Watch your mouth, peasant. They're called kenseikan, and they're a sign of nobility," clippy boy responded angrily. Rukia sweat dropped slightly. "Um… Shinkiro-chan, this is my older brother, Captain Byakuya Kuchiki. He is the head of the noble Kuchiki family, and the captain of the Sixth Division of the Soul Society or Seireitei," Rukia interjected before me and clippy boy killed each other, "Byakuya-nii-san, this is Shinkiro Ogawa-chan. She was the special case the council made the decision about. She has been through a lot, and I'm sure she meant no disrespect. Right, Shinkiro-chan?"

Her eyes told me I couldn't argue with her, and that I should just call a truce with this prick now. Sorry, Rukia, but this will be done on my terms. Don't use pity to make people to forgive me.

"Well, if Clippy-chan," his glare intensified so I corrected myself, "my bad, Clippy-taicho, will apologize to me for glaring at me for no freaking reason, then I will gladly apologize for hurting his poor oversized ego." Rukia's sweat drop told me that I had not worded that correctly at ALL… I suddenly lost all my confidence from the glare I got. He hadn't said anything rude to me at first, and I just snapped at him. Still, I don't want to apologize and seem weak.

"Rukia," Clippy-taicho says, obviously irritated, "Make sure this peasant doesn't come home with you. She is not welcome in the Kuchiki manor until she learns some respect." With that, he stalked off as Unohana-taicho came in with paperwork for me.

"After this, we have a meeting with the head captain, Shinkiro-chan," Rukia stated plainly as I filled out paperwork for me to leave. Unohana-taicho smiled at me and handed me a sword. I looked at wearily.

"This is your zanpakto, Shinkiro-chan," Unohana-taicho explained at my obvious confusion, "Your sword as a soul reaper, and your partner as well. Keep it with you." I smiled and thanked her, taking the sword. It felt odd, but good in my hands, like it belonged there or something. Weird.

After that, Rukia and I left to go to the head captain's office. I was not at all excited about this visit. This guy is the head of everything here apparently, and I don't do well meeting new people obviously. But I did want to thank him and the council for the opportunity they gave me.

-At the Head Captain's Office-

Knock. Knock. "You may enter." I heard the voice of an older man say. Rukia led me into a rather large room with an older man standing in the center with a large wooden cane. He also had an insanely long beard. His gaze was intense, and it turned to me.

"You must be, Shinkiro Ogawa. I am Shigekuni Yamamoto. The captain of the 1st division and the head captain of the 13 Court Guard Companies," the old man introduced very calmly and somewhat kindly, "I understand you come from a very interesting predicament. This being said, your spiritual pressure much greater than any of our students in the academy. Therefore, having you train with them would be a danger to them." I looked at him confused.

"Pardon me, Head captain sir, but I'm just an 18 year old who happened to get saved from a bad situation and can see dead people. I'm nothing special," I stated quietly, "By the way, I want to thank you and the council very much for what you all did for me. Yes, technically I am dead, but you all have given me a new life that I could not have ever dreamed of. So thank you." I bowed low in gratitude and respect.

"Lift your head, child," the head captain said and I did as I was instructed and was met with a very kind and gentle smile on the old man's face, "You are a very strong young lady, and you deserve much better than the life you were given in your time as a human. Here, I want to see you prosper, as I'm sure Rukia and Yumichika do as well. For this reason, I will be assigning you a captain to train you personally."

There are 13 of those right? Maybe he'll pick Unohana-taicho. I don't really care who he picks. Just for the love of all that is good and holy don't let it be-"I believe the best person to do this will be Captain Kuchiki of the 6th division. He will push you to become the best that you can become," he decides out loud.

Son of a b****! &!#%*$(!%&!$*^#$*$!#*&*# &$* #&$! Seriously! I nearly face palmed in front of the head captain, but I'm proud to say I did not.

"Oh you will also be staying at the Kuchiki manor with him and Rukia to make training more convenient and so you will be more comfortable being with someone you know," the head captain added cheerfully. Okay this time I did face palm in front of the head captain, but in my defense, I'm pretty sure Rukia did too! "This won't be a problem, will it you two?" the head captain asks in a way that almost dared us to say yes. I learned my lesson last time after the whole episode with Clippy-taicho.

"No, Yamamoto-soutaicho," Rukia and I dejectedly replied in unison. He smiled and dismissed us. We left and headed to the Kuchiki manor, where the real fun would soon begin.


	5. Chapter 5: Everyone has a Story to Tell

Chapter 5: Everyone has a Story to Tell

Rukia led me to the Kuchiki manor. We talked on the way there, and she was actually really excited. It turns out her older sister passed away a long time ago, and she was Clippy-taicho, I mean Kuchiki-taicho's wife. That would explain a lot. He lost someone close to him. I know firsthand how losing someone can turn you into a cold-hearted jerk. We agreed that I would go apologize to him by myself when we got there.

When we arrived, Rukia took me to my room which was right next to hers and had a sliding door between the two which I really liked. She got excited and started talking about sleepovers and stuff, and I was really happy. For the first time, I had a friend, and I wouldn't have to be beaten to a pulp or anything. I was so happy. After I got settled in, Rukia led me to Kuchiki-taicho's study and wished me luck before walking away. I took a deep breath before knocking on the door. It took about two seconds before the door was opened, and I was face to chest with an irritated Byakuya Kuchiki. He looked down at me and glared. I looked up at him apologetically.

"May I come in?" I asked quietly, my voice sad and almost cracking, "I'm not here to be rude or whatever. I'm here to apologize and inform you of some orders given to me by Yamamoto-soutaicho." He looked at me without glaring for a moment before moving out of the doorway and allowing me in. I shut the door behind me as he sat down at his desk a look of annoyance on his face.

"Now explain yourself, I do not like for my time to be wasted," he said stoically. I bowed slightly in respect, which seemed to surprise him slightly. I grabbed the orders out of my uniform sleeve, accidentally showing the scar from my last night as a human. The one where my parents poured rubbing alcohol on the knife cut. I noticed his eyes narrow slightly.

"Kuchiki-taicho," I started softly, "I'm sorry for being so disrespectful to you earlier today. It has nothing to do with my nobility or lack thereof. I overreacted to you glaring at me, but I'm realizing that's just how you look at everyone." He let that little jab go, and I think I saw his stoic face falter a little bit. "Anyways, I wanted to apologize and give you these orders," I said handing him the papers from the head captain, "I am to live here and be trained by you, Kuchiki-taicho. I will not be so rude again, I assure you."

I watched as his eyes scanned over the papers, confirming what I had just told him. His eyes narrowed to a point of what I'm guessing is my background, or lack thereof. He's probably irritated that he has to train me after how rude I was. Oh geez. This is what I get for standing up for myself.

"Shinkiro Ogawa-san," Kuchiki-taicho said interrupting my inner spaz attack.

"Call me, Shinkiro. Please. I do not wish to ever go by the last name Ogawa ever again," I stated flinching at the name I inherited from my adopted parents. The pain must have been obvious in my eyes because he didn't argue with me about it.

"Shinkiro-san, it appears everything you have told me is official and correct. We will begin training at 5 am tomorrow in the gardens here at the manor. Be prepared to train hard," he said calmly. I nodded eagerly and smiled at him.

"Thank you so much, Kuchiki-taicho!" I exclaimed with a smile as I bowed and turned to leave and then turned towards before I opened the door, "By the way, Kuchiki-taicho, my deepest condolescences for the loss of your wife. I know it was a long time ago, but I-I know firsthand how much losing someone affects you. No matter how much time has passed." With that, I turned and left the study and walked to my room to prepare for training the next day. I was exhausted, so I pretty much fell in my futon and passed out after setting my alarm of course.

-4:00 am-

I quickly got up as my alarm went off and took a 5 minute shower and got changed. I grabbed my zanpakto and was in the garden by 4:15am. Yes, I was 45 minutes early on purpose. I took my zanpakto out of its sheath and took a few swings. It felt good but off somehow. I looked it over trying to figure it out.

"Well if you would just listen to us, it would feel a lot better." I heard a male voice say. I jumped in surprise, dropping my zanpakto in shock and looking around, but I couldn't find anyone. I was out in the garden alone, and I was pretty sure I was going freaking insane.

"Ouch! Why did you drop us?" I heard a woman's voice this time say. I looked at my zanpakto. You have got to be kidding me. "We are not kidding you! Now will you please pick us back up?" the male's voice said again. I have officially lost my mind, but oh well, I'll go with it. I picked up my zanpakto.

"Okay. So there are two of you inside my zanpakto. That's weird enough, but what are your names?" I asked the sword. Gosh this is weird. I'm talking to an inanimate object.

"Will you stop calling yourself weird? It's perfectly normal for zanpaktos to talk to their wielders!" the woman's voice said and my sword glowed, and suddenly, there was a man and a woman in front of me. This caused me to jump back.

"Holy crap! Seriously? Let's give our wielder a heart attack! That's a good idea!" I exclaimed, still not believing what I was seeing. The man chuckled and ruffled my hair. He had straight, dark purple hair that went down to right above his crimson red eyes. He stood probably almost a full head taller than Kuchiki-taicho. He wore a long black cloak with long black pants and ninja shoes. The woman just sort of rolled her eyes but smiled slightly. She had ice blue, straight hair down to her knees with a crown of what looked like ice around her head and large ocean blue eyes. She wore a long white princess gown with an ice blue corset and she was barefoot. They were a stunning yet opposite couple, and I say couple because they were holding hands as well.

"So what are your names?" I asked again, more curious than ever.


	6. Chapter 6: Aisuhime & Kagekishi

Chapter 6: Aisuhime & Kagekishi

"So what are your names?" I asked, more curious than ever. They looked at me and smiled. The man motioned to the woman as if to say "ladies first". She smiled at him. They were so obviously in love. It was adorable, if not a little nauseating.

"My name is Aisuhime," the lady said with a smile, "If you need me, simply say, 'Strike Aisuhime', and I will come to your aid as an arrow with him as the bow." I smiled widely, and the man cleared his throat.

"My name is Kagekishi," the man stated with a small, sarcastic bow and a goofy smile, "If you need my assistance, say "Shimmer Kagekishi", and I will allow you to hide in every shadow and strike using the mist that your zanpakto will become by going into your enemies bodies and either turn the mist to ice or use it as a poison." I smiled and started clapping and laughing until I heard someone clearing their throat.

I turned around to see everyone's favorite master of stoicism himself, Kuchiki-taicho. My zanpakto quickly went back into my sword, and I smiled at him. He looked at me like I had lost my mind, but I didn't even care. I was so excited about meeting my zanpaktos!

"Who were you talking to, Shinkiro-san?" Kuchiki-taicho demanded. I looked at him with a nervous smile on my face. Would he think I was crazy? Kagekishi and Aisuhime told me it was normal, but they may think it is doesn't mean Kuchiki-taicho will agree… Oh well. Might as well tell the guy the truth.

"I was talking to Kagekishi and Aisuhime, the spirits in my zanpakto," I said softly with a small smile, but I could not mask my excitement. He looked at me in what almost looked like shock.

"You know your zanpakto's name?" he asked getting very serious. I nodded vigorously.

"Names," I corrected happily, "There are two in here!" I held up my sword with a proud grin that I could not hold back. He gave me a scrutinizing look before saying, "Call them out." "In which form? I can only do one at a time," I asked, confused. He stared at me again. Did I suddenly grow two heads? Oh well.

"I'll just show you both," I said unsheathing my zanpakto, "Strike Aisuhime!" To my sheer pleasure, my sword turned into an intricate deep purple bow with an ice blue arrow with a barbed tip. Kuchiki-taicho looked borderlining on impressed, but then I let Aisuhime return to normal and prepared to call on Kagekishi.

"Shimmer Kagekishi," I said quietly and out of instinct held my zanpakto end to end and smashed between my hands, turning it into a mix of dark purple and ice blue mist. I suddenly melted into the shadow of a nearby sakura tree. The look on Kuchiki-taicho's face was priceless. He was shocked, and I think he was impressed. I quickly withdrew Kagekishi and appeared two inches from Kuchiki-taicho's face which was totally unintentional on my part. Then I heard a deep chuckle in my head. Dang it, Kagekishi. My face turned dark red.

"G-gomen nasai, Kuchiki-taicho," I stuttered starting to back up until he grabbed my left arm. Oh by the way I'm left handed.

"What happened here?" he pulled up my sleeve revealing the scar from the night my parents pretty much killed me. It was a pretty intricate looking scar. It looked my mom was trying to perform some sort of satanic ritual on me. Jokes on her I guess. It looked kind of cool honestly. I avoided his gaze, but I felt a hand grab my chin and pull my face to force me to look him in the face.

"Who did this to you?" he asked again. I felt the tears start to well up, but I forced them back. I am not weak, not anymore. My past does not define me anymore. I sighed. I knew his past, so I suppose he had a right to know mine. Plus I'm living at his place so yeah. I just figured it would've been in the papers from the head captain about my situation.

"My adopted parents from when I was alive did it the night I died," I stated coldly, "They decided that night they were going to go ahead and finish me off after 14 years. It was about time." I smiled humorlessly at him. He looked at me, and his stoic face softened. Next thing I know, I felt two arms wrap around me awkwardly, but protectively.

"How often did stuff like this happen?" Kuchiki-taicho asked, his voice sounding…angry? I looked up at him with a small smile.

"Why does it matter, Kuchiki-taicho? Is this part of my training?" I joked with a smaller laugh at my own joke because I knew he wouldn't laugh. He looked at me and seemed to be arguing with himself.

"Call me Byakuya," he said, shocking me, "I do not wish for you to fear me. From the sounds of it, you spent your entire life fearing the people who are supposed to take care of you. I will not have that here. My job is to train you. For me to do that effectively, you must trust me. Now tell me how often this happened." I smiled smally. He truly was kind, just very very strict and stoic. He did have a heart though.

"It happened almost every day," I admitted, "I have burn scars down my legs and stab scars and other slash scars all over me from over the years. They just avoided my face because they cared too much about appearance. I could hide everything else." The grip around me tightened slightly, and I hesitantly returned the hug. "Thank you, Byakuya-taicho," I said with a few tears escaping my eyes and onto his captain's robe.

He pulled my face up and looked me in the eye. "I will make you strong, if that is what you truly wish. You will be able to protect yourself from anything like that ever happening again," he said all business again. I nodded happily, and he let go of me. "Today, you may accompany me to the sixth company if you'd like to see how things are run there to prepare you to work one day," he offered calmly. I got even more excited and looked at my zanpakto.

"Kagekishi! Aisuhime! We're going on a field trip!" I whispered excitedly. I heard their combined chuckling, and that so made it worth the weird look I was getting from Byakuya-taicho. "Oooooo…. Getting to call him by his first name already? Wow, Imouto-chan got game!" I heard Kagekishi teasing in my head. I rolled my eyes and shushed him in my mind as I felt my face heat up. This new life of mine was sure getting pretty interesting.


	7. Chapter 7: Field Trip

Chapter 7: Field Trip

My eyes were wide. There were so many people in this division. A lot of people kept staring at me as we passed them. "It's because you're with the man with the heart of stone or no heart," Aisuhime chuckled slightly, and I huffed at her in my head. He does have a heart. It's just scarred up really bad. I heard Kagekishi chuckle too. "Someone has a crush." "Do not." "Do too! Believe me if anyone knows about that, it's us." Well he had me there, but I barely know Byakuya-taicho. "Yet you still get to call him by his first name." "Shut up Kagekishi." "Fine, but remember, we so told you so." "You sound like a teenage girl." I felt him shrug, and then I ran into something and began to fall backwards.

Well crap this is gonna hurt. Except it didn't because a strong arm caught me. I was pulled up to Byakuya-taicho's chest, and I felt my face turn the color of a strawberry. "A-arigato gozaimasu, Kuchiki-taicho," I apologized and he gave me a look, "I-I mean, Byakuya-taicho." He nodded as if saying that's better and opened the door to what I guessed was his office. Inside there were two desks, at one of them was the red-haired guy I had met the day I died. Now that's a weird thought. His head snapped up when the door opened.

"Ah good morning Kuchiki-taicho!" he said respectfully and then noticed me and his eyes went wide, "What's a human doing here?!" "He's got a real winner for a second in command, doesn't he?" Kagekishi commented, and I laughed. This caused pineapple head to glare at me. That annoyed me. I'm sick of people in this freaking place glaring at me for no gosh-darn reason!

"First of all, quit glaring at me, Pineapplehead before I turn your insides into a piña colada popsickle," I said angrily, my voice louder than it usually is, "Second, I'm not a human. I'm a soul reaper. That day you met me at school? Yeah, that was the day I died, you insensitive moron!" The guy just looked at me in shock, and Byakuya-taicho merely closed his eyes as though to avoid pitying me, which I appreciated.

"Shinkiro-san, this is my lieutenant, Renji Abarai," Byakuya-taicho said calmly, stopping this from turning into a fight, "She will be learning to be a soul reaper by working with our division. You are to respect her, and she is to respect you. Do you both understand?" I have a feeling we don't really have a choice.

"Hai, Kuchiki-taicho," Renji said sighing in defeat and staring at me waiting for me to say something.

"Hai, Byakuya-taicho," I said sighing as well, but I looked him in the face as well, "But if he glares at me for no freaking reason again, Kagekishi and Aisuhime are a little overprotective and I still have trouble controlling them." I gave him and Renji a very innocent smile and tapped my zanpakto. I saw Renji roll his eyes, and Byakuya-taicho appeared mildly amused honestly, which surprised me.

"Take her to go spar with the eleventh division, Renji," Byakuya-taicho said suddenly. Renji and I both stared at him. Renji looked at him in disbelief, and I was excited.

"Chika-chan is the 11th division! Yay!" I exclaimed, grabbing Renji's arm, "Let's go, Pineapplehead." I dragged him out of the office and in a random direction.

"Um, do you even know where we are going?" he finally asked. I shook my head and quit dragging him. He sighed and began walking in the opposite direction. Whoops. It's part of the adventure right?

-At the 11th Division-

"Oi Renji! Let's fight!" a bald man yelled at Renji as soon as we stepped foot onto the 11th division grounds. I rolled my eyes as I could practically feel the testosterone spike around me. Oh gosh. How does Yumichika put up with all of this?

"I can't! I have to babysit this little wimp for Kuchiki-taicho!" Renji yelled back motioning to me with an arrogant look in his eyes. Did I mention that I hated arrogance? Renji yelped as I dead-legged him with the sheath of my zanpakto.

"Byakuya-taicho told you to take me to come spar with the members of squad eleven, not to babysit me," I said calmly, my voice quiet as usual when I'm around new people. The bald guy came up and laughed loudly at Renji, who was now bent over gripping the back of his knee.

"What the hell was that for?!" Renji yelled at me, "And did you just call the captain by his first name?!" I merely shrugged at the shock on his and baldy's face.

"He probably asked her to," I heard a familiar voice say, "I mean after all who wouldn't want to be more familiar with such a beautiful lady?" I turned around and glomped the male behind me.

"Chika-chan!" I said excitedly. Sure enough there was my best friend, Yumichika, in all of his metrosexual glory. He merely gave me his arrogant smirk and returned my hug. After our weird hug exchange, we looked over to see baldy and Renji looking at us like we had each grown an extra head.

"Oh please forgive my rudeness. Shinkiro-chan, this is the third seat of the eleventh division, Ikkaku Madarame," Yumichika introduced flamboyantly. I smiled kindly at the Ikkaku and silently thanked Yumichika for not saying my last name.

"Hey Shinkiro-san!" Ikkaku looked at me with a challenge gleaming in his eyes, "Are you any good at fighting without your shikai?" Byakuya-taicho explained to me what that was earlier. That meant Kagekishi and Aisuko couldn't help me in the other forms my sword could turn into. Well crap. Why not. I smiled sweetly.

"I'm not sure, Madarame-san," I replied softly, "But I am more than willing to try and fight you without the help of either of my zanpakto." His eyes narrowed.

"I'm not getting my killed just because Kuchiki-taicho's little pet girl doesn't know how to fight," he said in a very annoyed voice. Okay. Now I was angry.

Without thinking, I unsheathed my zanpakto and swung at the arrogant baldy with all the strength I could. I caught him off guard and managed a shallow cut in his shoulder as he jumped back in shock. Suddenly, he had a wicked grin on his face.

"Now we're talking!" And with that he charged at me and swung his zanpakto. I blocked it until I heard air moving from the other side of me as well. I looked over just in time to get hit in the face hard by Ikkaku's sheath. The blow knocked me to the ground, and the fall knocked the breath of out me causing me to cough up blood. I stabbed my sword into the ground and used it to push myself up. I was still recovering from everything that happened the past couple of days.

I couldn't give up though. What kind of student would I be if I couldn't even take a hit? I didn't want to embarrass Byakuya-taicho. I looked up to see Ikkaku above me again to strike. I stood up straight and jumped just as he would have hit me. I dashed back at him, ready to swing, but I was to slow. I felt a sharp pain as Ikkaku's sword buried its way into my shoulder. I cried out in pain and fell to the ground, except I never hit the ground. Two arms stopped me from that.

"That's enough!" I heard a familiar voice command as I lost consciousness.


	8. Chapter 8: Just My Luck

Chapter 8: Just My Luck

"That's enough!" I heard a familiar voice command as I lost consciousness. Well losing consciousness was not a good way to put it. I could still hear what was going on, but I couldn't move or respond at all.

"You used almost all of your spiritual energy before the battle even started when you summoned us. Your body is still recovering. Please be more careful from now on," I heard Aisuhime sigh, obviously worried. Well crap. May as well listen in.

"T-taicho!" I heard Renji say in shock, "I-I can explain!" I felt Byakuya-taicho's grip on me tighten. I felt bad because I didn't want Renji to get in trouble. It wasn't his fault. I was careless.

"Renji, you felt how little spiritual pressure she had. Letting her fight Ikkaku was irresponsible," I heard Byakuya-taicho scold. Then I heard a snicker. Oh heck no. Renji was not babysitting. I felt my spiritual pressure rise, and I opened my eyes and jumped out of Byakuya-taicho's arms. They all looked at me shocked except Yumichika. He knew that my anger and pride were two things someone should never underestimate or undermine.

"Listen up!" I yelled angrily, my voice no longer soft as it usually was, "I am not some weakling who needs to be babysat by ANYONE! If I get hurt, it's my own dang fault! I'm an adult, and I make my own decisions. Last I checked, if I wanted to go face a hollow by myself right now, I very well could! And-!"

"No you couldn't," Byakuya-taicho interrupted, "You are under my jurisdiction, and I would not allow it. You are not strong enough to take on even the weakest of hollows without serious injury or death."

I couldn't help it. I sneered at him. "Ah, but I'm just a peasant so why the heck do you care? You're only training because you were ordered to by Yamamoto-soutaicho," I replied with an angry smirk, but it sounded like there were two people speaking.

"Shinkiro-chan, stop it! Right now!" Yumichika yelled worried, "Remember when you started to feel a hole forming in your heart when I met you? And I told you to fight it? That's back and you have to fight it! That's why you've been acting strange. You have to fight it now too!"

-Byakuya's Point of View-

I had shown up at the eleventh division to observe how well Shinkiro could fight without her newly found shikai, but when I arrived I saw her falling to the ground. I flash stepped and caught her before she hit the ground. It would be a major inconvenience for both of us if she ended up in the fourth division for a week again. This girl I swear was a liability, but she seemed to have a good heart. Those are rare to find here lately.

After getting on to Renji for not being careful with who she fought, I felt her spiritual pressure suddenly spike, and she quickly ended up about 10 feet away from me. To the others, it probably seemed like she teleported. She moved as though she flash stepped, but she never learned to do that.

Her spiritual energy spiked even more, and I realized her sleeve had been cut on her left shoulder, and her spike in spiritual pressure had caused the sleeve to completely come off. My eyes widened slightly when I saw the scar on her arm glowing red as though it were bleeding. Her eyes were now a vibrant red and appeared to glow, instead of their typical clear ice blue. I only noticed this because she has large eyes. Yes, that's why.

"Listen up!" she yelled angrily, her voice angry and loud and… mixed with another more gravelly voice, "I am not some weakling who needs to be babysat by ANYONE! If I get hurt, it's my own dang fault! I'm an adult, and I make my own decisions. Last I checked, if I wanted to go face a hollow by myself right now, I very well could! And-!" I interrupted her.

"No you couldn't. You are under my jurisdiction, and I would not allow it. You are not strong enough to take on even the weakest of hollows without serious injury or death," I stated. I did not wish for her to do something that could cause serious injury again. I'm pretty sure she's had enough of those in her first lifetime in the world of the living.

She sneered at me, and I was taken aback but didn't show it of course. Then I felt it, a dark spiritual pressure mixed in Shinkiro-san's. Something is wrong here. The only time I have heard two voices like that was with…Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Ah, but I'm just a peasant so why the heck do you care? You're only training because you were ordered to by Yamamoto-soutaicho," she responded, her own voice sounding almost hurt, and the other voice finding the whole thing hilarious from the sounds of it. This was when someone else seemed to have caught on.

"Shinkiro-chan, stop it! Right now!" Yumichika yelled, obviously worried about her, "Remember when you started to feel a hole forming in your heart when I met you? And I told you to fight it? That's back and you have to fight it! That's why you've been acting strange. You have to fight it now too!"

Well that tells us when everything happened, but how did it stay quiet for so long? Then I saw the pained look on Shinkiro-san's face. It seemed as though his yelling snapped her out of it. She looked terrified, and I didn't know what to do help. For the first time since Hisana died, I felt completely helpless.

-Shinkiro's Point of View-

I realized Yumichika was right. There's something wrong. This isn't me. "Dang right it isn't! You're too much of a wimp for this to be you!" I heard a sinister voice inside my head say. Oh crap.

Who the heck are you?! "That's a great question. I'm your potential! The part of you that wants revenge for everything those horrible parents of yours did to you while you were in the world of the living!" I heard the voice respond with a sadistic happiness to it.

Well get out! My body only has living accommodations for one, and I was here first! "Fine, I'll leave you alone for now. But one day you will need me, and I will have control!" the voice said before I opened my eyes to see everyone staring at me, seeing if I had regained my sanity.

"Um… Gomen nasai, minna-san (everyone)," I said sadly remembering what I said to Byakuya-taicho. My knees buckled, and I stabbed my zanpakto into the ground to stop myself from completely falling to the ground.

"Sheath your zanpakto, Shinkiro-san," Byakuya-taicho ordered. I looked up at him.

"With all due respect, Byakuya-taicho, this is what is holding me up right now," I said bluntly, my vision going a little fuzzy for a second before clearing back up. Byakuya-taicho closed his eyes in what may have been annoyance, but he disappeared out of nowhere.


	9. Chapter 9: My Motivation

Chapter 9: My Motivation

"With all due respect, Byakuya-taicho, this is what is holding me up right now," I said bluntly, my vision going a little fuzzy for a second before clearing back up. Byakuya-taicho closed his eyes in what may have been annoyance, but he disappeared out of nowhere.

Suddenly, I was lifted up bridal style. I yelped in surprise and turned to see Byakuya-taicho holding me. The looks on Ikkaku, Renji, and Yumichika's faces told me all I needed to know. I was not wrong to be shocked by this. This was not normal for him.

"Sheath your sword, Shankiro-san. It would be dangerous for me to carry you with it unsheathed, and people would assume there was a threat. It would cause unnecessary panic," Byakuya-taicho said stoically as though him picking me up like this was totally normal, which for the record, it is NOT! I could feel my face heating up as I sheathed my sword.

"You do realize you carrying me will probably draw plenty of attention in and of itself," I said matter-of-factly, "I can walk." 'No you can't,' I heard Kagekishi say in my head, 'You are completely out of spiritual and physical energy. If you push anymore, you could force yourself into another coma.' Well crap.

"Can you?" Byakuya-taicho challenged, looking me straight in the eye. This would not be near as intimidating if he wasn't four inches from my face. My face heated up even more. He's got really nice eyes. I wonder if his hair is soft as it looks. And now I'm sure my face looks like a tomato. Whoops… I looked down at my lap and shook my head. He sighed.

"That's what I thought," Byakuya-taicho said calmly. I heard Ikkaku snicker and looked up to see Byakuya-taicho silence him with a glare. "Ikkaku Madarame, while I know the eleventh division is not well known for its intelligence, you should have realized she was too weak to fight someone at your level."

"Hai, Kuchiki-taicho," Ikkaku said bowing slightly. Now, it was my turn to glare, but they were right. I was still weak. I needed to get stronger, so I just bit the inside of my cheek and waited for Byakuya-taicho to carry me to wherever the heck he was going to take me.

Then, we began to move. I merely looked at my lap to avoid the various stares I knew I was getting from people. I hated this feeling. Never again would I be weak. Byakuya-taicho said he would train me to make me strong, but I know now that I can't depend on him to do all the work. I needed to learn as much as I could.

When we finally went inside a building, I looked up. We were in the Kuchiki manor. No one here dares to look Byakuya-taicho in the face, so I didn't really care. To my surprise, he took me to his study and laid me down on the couch on the left wall, close to his desk.

"We need to talk," he said sitting beside me on the couch. I laughed a little. "What is so funny?" he asked, obviously confused though he didn't show it.

"I don't know how dating works here in the Soul Society, and I never dated in the world of the living, but I do know that in the world of the living that is typically what someone says when they want to break up with someone," I explained still giggling at my own sense of humor. Byakuya-taicho just shook his head at me.

"I'm being serious, Shinkiro-san," he said looking me dead in the eyes. I nodded.

"I know. I'd be more surprised if you were joking honestly, Kuchiki-taicho," I teased slightly, and he looked at me, "I'm just messing with you, Byakuya-taicho. It's a joke." I sighed. I said the Kuchiki-taicho thing to mess with him on purpose. He doesn't get jokes I don't think.

"Shinkiro-san, enough," he said more sternly, obviously getting a little irritated, "What you did today was highly irresponsible and irrational. Ikkaku is the third seat of the strongest fighting company in the Seireitei." I looked at him a little annoyed. I mean yeah, I shouldn't have gotten into the fight with Ikkaku, but still.

"You were the one who sent me there to spar with people anyways," I reminded him, "And I don't recall getting any restrictions from you on who I could and couldn't fight while I was there."

"That's because I sent Renji with you, and I thought you would be able to sense who was too strong for you to handle," he responded back. Now that hurt a little bit. It hurt because now, I feel like I was letting him down.

I looked at my lap as tears welled up in my eyes. I suddenly realized I had only been here for like two days, and he expected me to understand all of this. I grabbed the fabric of my uniform pants as I balled up my fist.

I felt a hand on my chin as Byakuya-taicho tried to lift my head so I'd face him. When I did, I was met with a look of annoyance and stoicism. I have no clue how he managed that but he did. My eyes widened, and the tears fell as all the pent up emotions of fear and anger and sadness finally broke the wall I had been using to hold them back.

"I don't know any of this, Byakuya!" I said angrily, "I died in the world of the living not very long ago, and have only been in the Soul Society and aware of what was going on for not even a full two days! I lost the life I've had for the past 18 years, and, while it definitely was not perfect, it was mine! I was murdered by my own parents who are probably celebrating finally making my body give out after all the years of abuse! I have had no formal training except what YOU have given me, which at this point is not much! I'm sick of everyone treating me like a child, and then doing nothing to make me more independent! Yamamoto-soutaicho assigned you as my mentor because he believed you would not baby me, and I'm not asking you to! I'm asking you to teach me and train me! I'm willing to do what it takes, but I have to know where the hell to start!"

I looked at him to see his mouth open slightly in shock and his eyes wide. I heard a gasp. Then I looked at the door and saw Rukia looking at me sadly. It wasn't pity. She was in tears for me because I was almost out of tears myself. She ran over to me and hugged me tightly. I felt my uniform getting wet as she cried for me. This stopped my tears. No one had ever cried for me. I think it healed me more than my own tears.

"It's okay, Rukia-chan," I said softly as I rubbed her back and gingerly returned her hug, "What doesn't kill me makes me stronger, right?" She looked up at me, and I gave her a weak smile. She smiled back and hugged me again.

"Come on, Shinkiro-chan," she says suddenly stopping the hug but grabbing my arm with a huge smile on her face, "I know someone we could go talk to and have help you with the books stuff!" I smiled my thanks as she pulled me up and almost out the door.

"Shinkiro-san," Byakuya-taicho called out before I made it out the door. Cursing to myself, I turned back around to see him composed with a bit of a smirk on his face, which threw me for a loop.

"Yes, Taicho?" I responded curiously. Next thing I know he appeared behind me.

"Training, 4am. Do not be late, and be prepared," he says calmly as he shuts the door to his office and walks down the hallway.


	10. Chapter 10: Let's Get Down to Business

Chapter 10: Let's Get Down to Business

"So where are you taking me, Rukia-chan?" I asked as she led me out of the Kuchiki manor. She smiles excitedly.

"I'm going to take you to meet my captain! The captain of the 13th division!" she exclaimed excitedly as she took off running, "Consider this physical training!" I laughed. This girl was certainly eccentric at times.

We made it to the thirteenth division in after about 15 minutes of running. Rukia led me to a room, and then screeched to a stop. I was actually out of breath, so I gladly stopped as well. This girl's endurance was insane! Or did mine just suck?

"Yours just sucks," I heard Kagekishi say inside my head, and Aisuhime cackle in laughter at him. Don't y'all have a mute button? "Nope!" they said in unison and then were quiet. They are so weird.

Rukia smiled before knocking on the door. We heard a faint 'come in!' and we did. I walked in to see a pale man with white hair that seemed to be about as long as mine. He didn't seem that old despite his white hair that obviously went white prematurely. This was obvious because he had black eyebrows.

"Ah, Rukia! What a pleasant surprise! How can I help you?" the man said kindly with a smile on his face. Okay, so note to self, not all captains are stoic as all get out, minus Captain Unohana of course. She was nice.

I felt Rukia nudge me, breaking me out of my thoughts and letting me know I had to talk. Well dang. She knows I'm shy, but this guy seems really nice.

"Ano (Um)… Konichiwa, my name is Shinkiro Ogawa, and I recently became a soul reaper and due to some extenuating circumstances. Rukia-chan told me you might be able to help me learn some basic things about the Soul Society and what skills I need to have to become strong," I said shyly, but determined. He looked at me shocked at first but then smiled.

"I have heard of your situation, Shinkiro-chan, as I'm sure you prefer to be called," he said seriously, but then went back to his friendly self, "My name is Jushiro Ukitake, captain of the thirteenth division of the 13 Court Guard companies. Do you know anything about these?"

"No," I said shaking my head, "Only that there are 13, and that the 11th division is known as the best fighters without using shikai. Also, the fourth division is the healing division, and the captain is Retsu Unohana-taicho. The captain of the sixth division is Byakuya Kuchiki-taicho, and his lieutenant is Renji Abarai. These are all just learned from experience though." Ukitake-taicho nodded in approval.

"You learned all that just from the observations made in the past two days?" he asked in verification. I nodded.

"Well you are definitely observant and teachable! That's a good sign! Let me begin with explaining the 13 Court Guard Companies, and then, I suggest if you need help with kido to go talk to Nanao Ise or you can ask your mentor, Byakuya. I'll also explain what kido is if you would like," Ukitake-taicho said with a smile as he got up and went and sat on the floor with a bunch of books he grabbed. Rukia left so he and I could get started.

Normally, this would spaz me out. I don't like being alone with older men, but Ukitake-taicho reminded me of what I dreamed having a good father would be like when I was younger and I still had a hope of trying to escape.

-4 Hours Later-

"Let's stop here for tonight, Shinkiro-chan," Ukitake-taicho said as he closed the book on kido, "You really are quite the quick learner, Shinkiro-chan!" His praises made me smile really big, as we both stood up

"Now, I have a question," he says seriously, "Why do you want to become strong?" I looked sadly at the ground.

"You know my extenuating circumstances, right?" I asked sadly, and when he nodded yes, I continued, "Well I never want to have to go through that again. I don't want to be defenseless ever again. I may have given up on being part of a family, but for once, I have friends whom I wish to protect. I want to become strong so that I am no longer a liability to Byakuya-taicho. So that I can fight alongside Yumichika-kun, Rukia-chan, and you, Ukitake-taicho and Byakuya-taicho and even protect them if need be. I know you and Byakuya-taicho are captains, so the chances of me having to protect y'all or even getting to y'all's levels are slim to none, but that is my goal."

At the end of my little speech, Ukitake-taicho gave me a huge hug. "You are already very strong emotionally, Shinkiro-chan," he said with a huge smile, "And your heart and reasons are pure. If anyone can do it, you can. If you need just some fatherly advice or anything like candy, please don't hesitate to come by."

"A-arigato, Ukitake-oto-san!" I said without thinking and then slapped my hand over my mouth as he released me from the hug, "G-gomen nasai, Ukitake-taicho!" He merely looked at me and grinned.

"I probably am old enough to be your great great great grandfather, and besides, you have no family here. I will gladly be your family, but if you call me that, I'd prefer you do so with my first name," Jushiro-oto-san said with a smile, "Now can you find your way back to the Kuchiki manor?"

Just as I was about to embarrassedly tell him no, there was a knock on the door. Jushiro-oto-san told them to come in, and I was surprised when Byakuya-taicho at the door.

"Shinkiro-san needs her rest if she will be any good in training tomorrow morning," he said in typical Byakuya-taicho stoicism.

"Ah, good evening, Byakuya-kun!" Jushiro-oto-san greeted as I walked over to Byakuya-taicho, "That is a very bright and determined pupil you have there, Byakuya-kun. She sought me out to learn about kido and how the Soul society works all by herself. She is quite the quick learner too!" He was making me blush with his compliments. He really did sound like a doting father.

"Good to know. Let's just hope her physical training goes as well as this then," Byakuya-taicho replies appearing slightly surprised and then turned to me, "Now let's go." I nodded and turned to face Jushiro-oto-san.

"Ja ne, Jushiro-oto-san!" I said happily waving at him before following Byakuya-taicho out the door. He seemed shocked at what I called the other captain. Oh well. I felt accomplished.

We made it to the Kuchiki manor in complete silence, not the awkward kind though. I went to my room to get some sleep before the roughest part of my training began.


	11. Chapter 11: Confidence is Key

Chapter 11: Confidence is Key

Beep beep! Beep Beep! I heard my alarm go off and cursed under my breath before getting up and turning it off. I wanted to get stronger, but did I have to get stronger at 4am? I've never hated hearing an alarm more than when it went off at 2:30am. I quickly took a 5 minute shower before deciding to try something different.

Instead of my typical baggy soul reaper uniform, I picked out one of the other uniforms that was put in my dresser drawer by who knows who. This one had no sleeves and no back for the shirt and the pants were pretty much black leggings. To finish preparing for physical training, I French braided my hair diagonally down the back of my head and down my back. This would keep it out of my face and off of my neck.

This all made me rather self-conscious because now a whole lot more of my scars were visible. I'm pretty pale, so they weren't that noticeable, except for the burn scars on my legs. Oh well. It will be just me and Byakuya-taicho, and he already knows.

I made it out to the training grounds outside of the manor by 3:30am. What can I say? I enjoy being early. "I can't believe you get up this early," I heard Aisuhime sighing in my head. I rolled my eyes and joked back with her, "Look, I'm no princess. Stuff like this is probably easier than most of the things I have gone through." I heard her do her best stereotypical huff, and I started laughing out loud.

"Um, Shinkiro-chan, look behind you," I heard Kagekishi say. I turned around to see a slightly red-faced Byakuya-taicho with an almost shocked look on his face. I smiled brightly at him and walked up to him.

"Alright, Byakuya-taicho! I'm ready for training. I don't plan on ever losing to Ikkaku-san again!" I said excitedly, unsheathing my zanpakto. I was determined. This seemed to break him out of his little trance or state of shock or whatever. He nodded and unsheathed his sword as well.

This made me nervous. Jushiro-oto-san warned me about Byakuya-taicho's zanpakto and about his insane speed, but I refused to let that scare me. I wanted to get stronger. I tightened my grip on my zanpakto.

"Today, we are going to work on your speed. I'm going to come at you at half my speed and without using my flash step," he explained, his stoic expression back with a vengeance, "You are to dodge or block as fast as you can. I will be aiming to harm you, but not kill you. Treat this exercise as though I were striking to kill though, understood?" I nodded, my earlier smile replaced with a determined face.

Byakuya-taicho ran at me really fast, and I jumped back. He then got right next to me and began to swinging at me in very quick, precise swings. I didn't want to let him down, and I found tracking his movements to not prove too difficult. This whole thing last for about three hours, and I ended up with a few cuts here and there; however, they were really shallow.

By the end of the training, I was sitting on the ground breathing rather heavily. Byakuya-taicho sheathed his zanpakto and was, of course, the picture of composed. He hadn't even broken a sweat. He turned to leave.

"Kuchiki-taicho," I said hesitantly. That caught his attention. He turned back to face me, and I stood up and walked up to him. We were now standing in the center of the training area. "About yesterday, I wanted to apologize for snapping at you. I truly am grateful for you training me, Kuchiki-taicho," I said softly, looking him dead in the eye before walking past him back to the manor.

-2 month time skip-

It's been two months, and I have gotten much stronger. I can now keep up with Byakuya-taicho's flash step and can use both of my shikai forms very effectively. I also took Jushiro-oto-san's advice and asked Nanao Ise for help, and she has become one of my best friends along Rangiku Matsumoto from the tenth division and Momo Hinamori from the fifth division. I've also become good friends with Ikkaku Madarame, Yachiru Kusajishi, and even Captain Kenpachi Zaraki because of Yumichika-kun of course.

"Shinkiro-san," I heard a familiar stoic voice say. I turned around and saw Byakuya-taicho standing at the edge of the clearing where we always train.

"Yes, Taicho?" I answered, my face turning red. Oh, one other thing, I've developed a major crush on my mentor. The only person who knows is Jushiro-oto-san, only because I trust him, and I wanted his advice. He seemed rather positive about it, but I don't know honestly. I plan on telling him after I get assigned a division, which is supposed to be soon.

"Yamamoto-soutaicho is calling for us to have a meeting with him and the other captains," Byakuya-taicho said, trying to mask some sort of emotion. I couldn't tell which emotion, but I was pretty excited. I grinned and cocked my head to the side, asking the unspoken question. He smirked slightly and nodded. My face turned beet red, but I also squealed in delight and hugged him without thinking. He stiffened before returning my hug briefly.

"We need to hurry or else we will be late," he says bluntly. I let go of him and nod.

"Race ya, Taicho!" I said excitedly as I began flashstepping towards the head captain's office. Byakuya-taicho quickly caught up with me, and we were neck and neck until the last second, he dashed ahead of me. I stopped and glared jokingly at him. I knew he was taking it easy on me.

When we entered the room, I instantly felt the eyes of every captain on me. This made me nervous, but I held my head high as Byakuya-taicho made his way to his seat. Byakuya-taicho hadn't just taught me about being strong. He taught me about pride and dignity as well. Some of it was a little stuffy for me, but some of it was really useful.

"Today, we are deciding on who will have Shinkiro Ogawa in their division. You have all received a file about her skills and abilities and personality this week," the head captain said beginning the meeting, "Now, we need to know who would like this girl in their division. Shinkiro-san, is there anything you'd wish to say before they decide?"

I looked at him, surprised. I didn't expect to have to say anything. This made me more nervous, but I looked at Jushiro-oto-san who nodded encouragingly and smiled and Byakuya-taicho, who looked at me expectantly. They thought I could do it, so I did too. I took a deep breath before speaking.

"My name is Shinkiro Ogawa, and I have been training for the past 2 months under Captain Byakuya Kuchiki," I began my voice stronger than I thought it would've been, "I plan on becoming stronger than I am now. There is always room for improvement. I want to work in a division where I can help people who cannot help themselves, protect people who are too weak to protect themselves, and continually get stronger. That's all." I finished with a sincere smile and stood beside the head captain. He nodded and then looked at all the captains.

"If you wish to have this girl in your division, please stand," the head captain said, and I held my breath. What if no one stood up? What if I don't know which one to pick? I didn't think about this. I looked around and to my surprise, Byakuya-taicho, Komamura Iba-taicho, Shunsui Kyoraku-taicho, Toshiro Hitsugaya-taicho, Kenpachi Zaraki-taicho, Mayuri Kurotsuchi-taicho, and Jushiro Ukitake-taicho all stood up.

My eyes widened. I was kind of disappointed that Unohana-taicho hadn't stood up, but I wouldn't hold it against her at all.

"Shinkiro-san, do you have a squad in mind out of the captains that have stood up?" the head captain asked me. I bit my lip.

I really liked Hitsugaya-taicho. He was really nice, and he took things seriously. I didn't really know Iba-taicho, but I knew if I was in Kyoraku-taicho's company, I could see Nanao-chan more. But I wanted to work with Byakuya-taicho too, but I knew that I would get distracted by him if I was in his division. No way in heck was I going into the twelfth squad. Kurotsuchi-taicho is insane!

Kagekishi, Aisuhime, I need y'all's help. I don't know what to do. "Where do you feel you can grow the most?" Kagekishi asked me. Then I knew my answer. I walked over to the short, white-haired, turquoise-eyed captain.

"Hitsugaya-taicho, I would be honored to become a member of squad 10 and work alongside you," I said with a smile as I gave him a small bow. I looked up and saw him give me a small smirk.

"It has been decided, Shinkiro Ogawa is now the third seat of the tenth division of the 13 Court Guard Companies," the head captain said and then dismissed everyone.


	12. Chapter 12: Now or Never

Chapter 12: Now or Never

After the head captain announced my official position, I smiled and greeted each of the captains and got my orders from Hitsugaya-taicho. Jushiro-oto-san gave me a huge hug and told me how proud he was of me. I was happy, but I had a mission to do before I lost my nerve. I had to go pack my things from the Kuchiki manor, and while I was there, I was gonna do it.

I was gonna tell Byakuya-taicho how I felt. As soon as I was released from the diplomatic stuff, I flash stepped fast as I could to the Kuchiki manor to where I figured Byakuya-taicho would be, the garden where we first trained. He was there as I expected. He seemed to be lost in thought. Gosh, he's handsome. Okay, Shinkiro. You can do this. Don't chicken out now.

"B-Byakuya-taicho," I said, cursing myself for stuttering as I approached him. I got about a foot away from him and looked up at him.

"What is it, Shinkiro-san?" he asked, more stoic than usual. This is not a good sign. Sigh. Well here goes nothing.

"I wanted to explain why I didn't choose to come to the 6th division-," I started but was interrupted by him. "You don't owe me an explanation," he said curtly. I glared at him. He was acting childish.

"Well too bad, Clippy-taicho! Because you're gonna stand there and listen to what I have to say anyways," I snapped irritated. This took him aback, and he looked at me rather impatiently. I sighed. He was not making this any easier, but whatever.

"The reason I did not choose to join the 6th division was because you were the captain," I started and realized by the look on his face that that was a really bad way to start, "Wait! That's not what I meant! Ugh! I'm so bad at words. This is exactly why I don't talk a whole lot. Okay. What I'm trying to say is that I didn't want to be distracted from training, and that would have been the case if I worked under you. And I know this probably completely inappropriate because I was your student and stuff, but Byakuya-taicho, I have feelings for you… You have become very special to me, and I honestly thought you would consider that a weakness because I know I would get distracted from time to time if I worked under you."

I finished and looked him in the eyes. He was shocked, and for once, it was not hidden on his face. "I know that you don't feel the same way, but I promised myself that when I became a member of the 13 Court Guard Companies, I would tell you how I felt," I said calmly with a small sad smile. Here comes the rejection. Brace yourself, Shinkiro.

Byakuya-taicho's face became very serious. He grabbed my arm and began to flash step away from the manor. I was having trouble keeping up with him, and him not talking was making this worse. He let go of my arm and let me flash step beside him. We did so in silence for about 5 minutes until he stopped and grabbed my arm. I stopped as well and noticed we were at someone's grave.

"This is her grave, isn't it?" I asked sadly. I knew his wife died, which was another reason I didn't want to tell him, but Rukia said she always knew that Hisana would want Byakuya-taicho to move on. I'm pretty sure Byakuya-taicho didn't agree with her. Suddenly, Byakuya-taicho grabbed my hand and walked me over to the tombstone. I kneeled down and paid my respects.

"Hisana-san, I'm sorry if what I've said tonight has offended you. Rukia-chan talks very highly of you, and I know Byakuya-taicho misses you a lot. I hold these two very dear to me, and I hope wherever you are, you can see how amazing they have become. I wish I could have met you. Rest in peace, Hisana-san," I said with a sad smile on my face. Byakuya-taicho grabbed my hand again and pulled me up.

This time though he pulled me into his arms, and I felt my face turn beet red. He released me and then laced his fingers with mine. Okay. What the heck is going on? He turned to Hisana-san's grave.

"Hisana," I heard him say with a low voice, "I thought after you, I could never care about anyone like this again. But I want to tell you that I have found someone who I care about more than anything else and want to protect more than anything else. I love you, Hisana, and that will never change. I want you to see the one who has begun to show me that good hearts still continue beating even after yours stopped. I pray that you will bless how I feel about this girl. Her name is Shinkiro, and she has softened my heart."

I felt the tears falling down my face. I had never heard more beautiful words. They weren't super eloquent honestly, but they were sincere. The wind blew around us and cherry blossoms from the trees swirled around us. Byakuya-taicho pulled me close to him and grabbed my chin in one hand with his arm around my waist.

"Byakuya-taicho," I said still crying slightly. I never wanted him to hurt like this, and yet, I was so happy.

"Byakuya. Just call me Byakuya, Shinkiro," he said before pulling my face to his, kissing me on the lips softly. I was so shocked that I didn't even kiss him back. After a second, he pulled back, obviously confused and a little hurt. Whoops. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked worriedly.

I didn't let him think that again. Getting on my tip toes, I pressed my lips against his with some slight aggressiveness. He kissed me back sweetly before pulling back and giving me a small smile. Not a smirk, a SMILE. I'm pretty sure my heart just leaped out of my chest. He is so freaking handsome! My face got redder than a lobster, and he chuckled and kissed my cheek.

"The reason I stood up to have you join my squad was so I could protect you," Byakuya admitted seriously, "But you don't wish to be protected do you?" He gave me a knowing look. I shook my head.

"That's why I didn't pick Jushiro-oto-san or Shunsui-oji-san (uncle) either. I wanted to be in a squad where I could grow and be independent. I didn't want a squad where the captain would try to protect me instead of focusing on the mission," I responded with a small smile.

Suddenly, I heard a sneeze coming from the bushes. Byakuya and I both drew our swords just in time for Jushiro-oto-san to come out of the bushes. I sweatdropped, and I'm pretty freaking sure Byakuya did too. Then, I noticed he was carrying a stack of folded papers in his hand. Byakuya and I sheathed our swords.

"How long have you been there, Jushiro-oto-san?" I asked, my face probably the color of a lobster yet again. He chuckled nervously.

"Long enough to see the beginning of what is sure to be the most talked about couple in the Seireitei," he said happily. I looked over to see Byakuya looking a little stressed at this comment. "Don't worry. I will leave it to you two to tell people as you both see fit. I'm here for another reason," Jushiro-oto-san said with a kind smile before walking over to me and holding out the papers.

"What are these?" I asked cautiously, taking the papers and beginning to unfold them. The top of the first paper shocked me. "Permission to Adopt" is what it said. On the bottom of the form, it was signed under prospective parent, Jushiro Ukitake. I looked up at him shocked.

"A-are you serious about this?" I said softly, my voice cracking. Jushiro-oto-san grinned at me with his sincere smile and nodded. Byakuya was confused, so I slowly handed him the papers.

"You said you never had a real family. I may not be a full family, but honestly, I already see you as a daughter. Plus, I figured you'd be in a hurry to get rid of that last name, and I didn't want you to rush into marriage to do that," Jushiro-oto-san responded with a bit of a joking manner at the end. I couldn't help it. My grin was ear to ear. I was crying, and I ran and hugged my new dad.

"Oto-san!" I cried as I hugged his haori. He returned my hug and kissed me on the top of my head. We stood there for about 5 minutes, and then we pulled back.

"We need to get your things from Kuchiki manor. I will leave that to you and Byakuya. Here," Oto-san said giving me a key, "See you at home. And Byakuya, take care of my daughter." Then he flash stepped away. I looked at Byakuya who grabbed my hand.

"I'm very happy for you both. Though I want to clarify some things," Byakuya said seriously, "I want to be you to be mine. I want there to be no confusion. Also, being with me will not be easy. The Kuchiki elders will not be happy about me being with another girl who is not a noble." He seemed upset about the last part, but determined. I squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

"Byakuya, I'm not scared of them, and neither should you be," I stated plainly, "They are not you. Your life is not theirs. Let's just take this one thing at a time." I smiled sheepishly, "I'm honestly more scared of telling, Rukia-chan." He chuckled.

"I'm leaving that job to you by the way," he says seriously, "She will question me later anyway, and I will have to take on the Kuchiki elders too." I smiled at him before jokingly punching his arm. Then, we walked hand in hand to the Kuchiki manor.


	13. Chapter 13: Family by Choice

Chapter 13: Family by Choice

Our walk to the Kuchiki manor was quiet for the most part, but I had the biggest grin on my face. We did make a game plan for when we got to the manor. He would go to his study and finish some paperwork, while I packed up my things and told Rukia-chan about us. Then, he would walk with me to my new home.

When we got to the manor, Byakuya gave me a chaste kiss on the lips before holding open the door for me. I walked in and made a beeline for my room, which was connected to Rukia-chan's. I took a deep breath before tapping on the sliding door separating our rooms.

"Come in!" I heard Rukia-chan say. I walked in and saw her drawing in her sketch pad again. I must say she and Byakuya are horrible artists, but seeing this did make me laugh on the inside and made me a little less nervous. The nerves must have been apparent on my face because she looked rather worried.

"Rukia-chan, I need to tell you something," I started, nervously, and she looked at me expectantly.

"You can tell me anything, Shinkiro-chan! That's what friends are for," she encouraged. I took a deep breath and looked at my hands.

"So what would you say if I told you I was dating your older brother?" I asked nervously with a shy smile. Her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. I'm not sure that's a good sign.

"As in Byakuya-nii-san?!" Rukia-chan asked in disbelief. I nodded, and she just stared at me for a moment before grinning ear to ear. "It's official? Like you and Nii-san?! When did this happen?!" she asked excitedly, "And why didn't you tell me you liked him?! I thought I was your best friend." That last part she seemed pretty upset about. Well crap.

"Yes, it's official. Um, I've liked him since I started talking to him about my past, and I told myself that when I made it into the Gotei 13, I would tell him my feelings. So today, I got to go to captain's meeting, and the captains who wanted me on their squad stood up. I got to pick from who stood up," I began to explain.

"So you're in squad 6 now?" she asked excitedly. I shook my head no, and her face fell. "Did nii-san not stand up?" she looked upset now. I shook my head again and held up a finger telling her to let me finish.

"I was getting there. Byakuya, Iba-taicho, Shunsui-oji-san, Hitsugaya-taicho, Kenpachi-taicho, Kurotsuchi-taicho, and Oto-san all stood up. I was told to pick which squad I would be in. I didn't want to be in squad 6 because I wanted somewhere I could focus on work and getting stronger. If I was in squad 6, I would have been distracted honestly. I like using my shikai, so I didn't want to be in squad 11. I didn't really know Iba-taicho, so that was out. Shunsui-oji-san and Oto-san would be way too protective of me. Oh and Kurotsuchi-taicho scares the mess out of me," I explained and she looked at me expectantly, "You are looking at the new 3rd seat of squad 10!"

Rukia-chan squealed and hugged me, "Congratulations! But get back to the part about you and Nii-san! I want details!" Well that's kind of weird because it's her brother, but whatever. I'll go with it.

"Anyways, after I went through all the diplomatic crap, I sought him out before I lost my nerve. I found him in the garden where we first trained, and I realized I had feelings for him. I told him the truth about how I felt, and he didn't say anything. He just grabbed my arm and flashstepped with me to Hisana-san's grave," I continued and saw sadness enter Rukia-chan and I gave her a hug and began tearing up a little bit, "I realized who the grave belong to, and I knelt down to pay my respects. I told her about how I felt about Byakuya, and that I hoped I didn't dishonor her memory with my feelings."

Rukia-chan and I were both crying now, but I wanted her to know that everything was okay. After all, she was my best friend, and my now my boyfriend's younger sister, whom he loved more than anyone in the whole world. I wiped up her tears and smiled at her.

"I wasn't finished," I said with a smile that probably told her all my feelings at this moment, "He then pulled me up and held my hand. He stood in front of Hisana-san's grave and told her that he felt the same about me. That he would always love her and that he would never forget her, but that he felt there was room in his heart to care for me as well. Then, he pulled me close and kissed me." I finished with a small smile, gauging Rukia-chan's reaction.

She looked at me, and she had finally stopped crying. Suddenly, she had a giant grin on her face. I began to walk to my room.

"I have to pack, Rukia-chan, but you can feel free to come draw in my room," I volunteered with a smile. She looked at me confused.

"Why are you leaving?" she asked, sadly. I smiled at her with a big grin.

"I got adopted today as well," I said and then answered her unspoken question, "By Captain Jushiro Ukitake. That's right! My name is Shinkiro Ukitake, 3rd seat of the 10th division, and daughter of the captain of the 13th division!" Rukia-chan grinned.

"I think Shinkiro Kuchiki sounds better," she said with a smirk as my face turned beet red, and I swatted her teasingly. The idea made me smile though. It did have a nice ring to it. I swear she can read my mind because her smirk grew wider as she helped me pack up my clothes.

"Is nii-san walking you over to Ukitake-taicho's house?" Rukia asked nosily. I blushed and nodded. She squealed and looked at me excitedly, "I want to see y'all together! I bet you two are absolutely adorable!" I sweatdropped and blushed even more. Dadgumit chick. I'm still getting used to the idea myself.

"Well, I'm going to get him from his study after we finish packing," I volunteered the information, knowing she would invite herself if I told her. And I was not gonna be accused by Byakuya of inviting her along. She nodded, understanding the hint I gave her. We quickly finished packing and walked over to Byakuya's study.

I knocked on the door and heard a faint "Come in." I peeked my head and saw him sitting at his desk, looking at a document. He noticed it was me and stood up and walked over to me, giving me a kiss on the cheek and grabbing my hand.

"Awwwwww!" I heard Rukia-chan squealed, "Y'all are so adorable! Everyone in the Soul Society is gonna be talking about this for weeks!" Byakuya and I sighed in unison. Neither of us really wanted that. As if either of us didn't have enough people talking about us as it is. He was the head of the Kuchiki clan, and I was the girl who became a soul reaper with no formal training and ended up as 3rd seat of the 10th division in 2 months.

We walked in silence except for Rukia-chan kept teasing Byakuya and I and asking him questions. Hey, I already had my turn in the interrogation seat. It was his turn. When we reached my new home, I could feel my palms sweating. It was a large manor, not quite as large as the Kuchiki manor, but pretty dang close. Here goes nothing. I knocked on the door and was answered by Oto-san and two younger girls and four younger boys. The manor seemed to bustling with excitement.

"Welcome home, my daughter," Oto-san said and I ran and hugged him. My new life was truly beginning. I had a family, a real family. This was easily the best day of my life.


	14. Chapter 14: 10th Division Bonding

Chapter 14: 10th Division Bonding

"Shinkiro-san!" Hitsugaya-taicho called out as I was training. I called back my shikai and stood up straight, sheathing my zanpakto. My first day in squad 10 had been amazing! I helped Rangiku-chan with her paperwork, and then got to help out different people in the squad with training. I turned to my captain and was surprised to see a delivery guy with a small bouquet of about 7 daffodils, which is the flower of the tenth division.

"Are you Shinkiro Ukitake-san?" the man asked nervously looking at my obviously annoyed captain. I smiled kindly at the poor guy and nodded. He handed me the flowers and took off running.

"You didn't have to glare at him the entire time he was here, Hitsugaya-taicho," I said to my captain who just glared at me, making me laugh a little. I looked at the tag on it and grinned.

"To Shinkiro, I hope your first day at work has been good so far. I never got a chance to congratulate you for your promotion. I hope this will suffice. I will be in squad 10 to take you somewhere special at 6pm-Byakuya Kuchiki" is what it read. I couldn't contain my giant smile.

"Ooooo who are those from, Shinkiro-chan?!" Rangiku-chan said flirtily smiling. I blushed really deeply as she grabbed the flowers out of my hand and read the tag. "Byakuya Kuchiki? As in THE Byakuya Kuchiki? Captain of squad 6?!" Rangiku-chan yelled out in surprise. Hitsugaya-taicho looked at me, obviously surprised as well.

"Um…. Yeah… We're kind of together now," I said shyly with a red face and big smile on my face. Both their jaws dropped, and I couldn't really blame them. It still was completely surreal to me, and it was my relationship for crying out loud. Then, I pretty much saw a light bulb go off in Rangiku-chan's head.

"Is this you guys' first date?" Rangiku-chan asked excitedly and I nodded yes, "Do you have anything to wear?" I looked at her, confused and pulled on my slightly oversized soul reaper uniform. She shook her head in disbelief.

"No ma'am! That just won't do! We are taking you shopping!" Rangiku-chan said excitedly, "And the Hitsugaya-taicho can come with us!"

"Absolutely not!" Hitsugaya-taicho and I said at the same time. We looked at each other and shrugged, and then he glared at the now dying of laughter Rangiku-chan. She regained her composure, and I had a sinking feeling that I wasn't getting out of this.

"That wasn't an option. You need some casual clothes, Shinkiro-chan, and this is the perfect excuse to go get you some. We've all completely finished our work today, and I think having Taicho come with us would be nice because we can get a guy's opinion without ruining the surprise for Kuchiki-taicho!" Rangiku-chan explained actually rather rationally. She had a point. I always wore my uniform.

I hadn't worn regular clothes since I died in the world of the living, which was over 2 months ago. I'd like to get to know my captain as well, but I don't want to drag the poor guy shopping.

"Hmph. I'm not going to comment on another guy's girlfriend. Especially not when the other guy is Byakuya Kuchiki," Taicho said with a small sweatdrop. I couldn't help it. I laughed out loud. It was just still such a crazy thought for me. Rangiku-chan got impatient and grabbed Taicho by his haori and me by my arm and began to drag us to town.

We finally agreed to go, so she would quit dragging us across the soul society. The captain and I conversed about various things. Then finally a question I expected earlier came up.

"I thought your last name was Ogawa. Why is it now Ukitake when you're dating Byakuya Kuchiki?" Hitsugaya-taicho asked. I smiled brightly at both thoughts.

"Jushiro Ukitake decided to adopt me. Even though Byakuya was my assigned mentor, I would go talk to Oto-san anytime I needed something explained that I would have learned in the academy. We grew really close, and on the day I became a member of the Gotei 13, he came up to me with adoption papers and asked me if I would like to be adopted by him," I explained with a grin that I think is gonna get stuck on my face here soon if I'm not careful.

Hitsugaya-taicho smiled, well smirked, at me and congratulated me on everything that happened to me the day before just as we reached the clothing store. I looked nervously at the clothes. Most of them included shorts, short sleeves, and pretty much anything that would show my scars, which I was still self-conscious about. The only time I ever let any of my scars show is when I was doing physical and swordsmanship training with Byakuya. I wasn't ready for these two see them. Oh well.

We walked in the door and the madness began. Rangiku-chan started practically throwing the clothes at the captain telling him to hold the clothes as strength training. Poor guy. I looked around to try and find something I would like. I eventually came across a top that was dark purple with a large ice blue bow at the back and a thin ice blue ribbon tied into a bow at the middle of the neckline as well. The sleeves came off the shoulders and went down to a person's knuckles. It also had a corset bodice.

I really wanted to try it on, so I grabbed my size along with a pair of plain black skinny jeans and headed to the changing room. I tried on various clothes for Rangiku-chan, some of which I would not come out in. However, after five times of this happening, she forced me to come out in some white shorts that went halfway down my thighs and a sleeveless pink kimono like top and was low cut. She said I had to come out, and I was not looking forward to it. I took a very deep breath before walking out to my captain and Rangiku-chan.

I looked up, and Rangiku-chan was smiling. "You look adorable!" she squealed happily. I also saw my captain noticing exactly what I was worried about. He was staring at the burn scars on the outside of my legs. I got so self-conscience that I ran back into the changing room and started crying silently. I changed into the clothes I picked out and came out in them. The scars on my chest and back and shoulders were still visible, but that made me feel a whole lot less self-conscience.

They both smiled at me, and Rangiku-chan gave me a huge hug. "You look awesome, Shinkiro-chan!" Rangiku-chan said with a big smile, "It's not my style, but I couldn't pick out anything that suited you more!"

"That does suit you very well, Shinkiro-san. I think Kuchiki-taicho will really like it as well," Hitsugaya-taicho agreed with a small smile of encouragement. I grinned at him.

"Arigato, Hitsugaya-taicho and Rangiku-chan!" I said happily and returned Rangiku-chan's hug.

"Call me Toshiro-taicho if anything," Taicho said, looking to the side, "Your dad calls me that, so you may as well, too. Plus you have definitely earned my respect." I smiled at him kindly before Rangiku pushed me back into the dressing room to get out of the clothes so I could pay for them. After that, we all flashstepped back to the 10th division. I looked at the time. It was 5:20pm. I quickly changed and came out with the outfit from earlier with a pair of flat heeled gray boots that went up to my knees. Rangiku squealed and decided to put makeup on me. That made me nervous because I'm not one to wear makeup, but when she finished, I looked in the mirror and smiled. She kept it all very neutral. All browns and golds for eye shadow, some black mascara, eye liner, and a clear lip gloss that tasted really good.

"It is cherry flavored," Rangiku-chan said winking, "Ya know, because Kuchiki-taicho's zanpakuto is Senbonzakura?" My face turned beet red, and I had to stop myself from facepalming. I didn't want to mess up my makeup. I liked it. I ran my fingers through my long curly hair and braided two pieces from the front to the back into a single braid. I looked at Toshiro-taicho and Rangiku-chan and smiled and bowed slightly.

"Arigato gozaimasu," I said sincerely, my voice soft. Rangiku-chan smiled and Toshiro-taicho just looked away, embarrassed. I looked at the clock: 6pm. I heard a knock on the door. Well he's right on time. Here goes nothing.


	15. Chapter 15: The First Date

Chapter 15: The First Date

Rangiku-chan, Toshiro-taicho, and I all turned to the door when at exactly 6pm we heard a knock on the door. Gosh, he's punctual. I walked over to the door and opened the door, and I immediately felt my face turn bright red. Byakuya was wearing a long sleeved, crisp, white button up tucked into black slacks with a black tie. Also, his hair clippy things weren't in either letting his hair hang loose.

I was so distracted by how nice he looked that I didn't notice the single pink camellia flower in his hand as he held it out to me. My face turned even redder as I smiled up at him. I then noticed a slight reddish tint to his cheeks as well. This made me a whole lot less self-conscious, so I had the nerve to stand on my tippy toes and give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Awwwww! Y'all are so adorable!" I heard Rangiku-chan squeal. I turned around to see her with a camera. "Y'all have to take a picture!" she demanded. I looked up Byakuya who looked a little annoyed, but okay with the idea. I just shrugged and turned around to face Rangiku-chan. Byakuya wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to his side, and I smiled. The camera flashed, and next thing I was outside. Byakuya had flash-stepped us out of there.

"You look beautiful, Shinkiro," he said with a small sort of smile. I blushed and smiled widely at him.

"Arigato, Byakuya," I said sweetly, "Where are we going?" This time he just smirks and pulls out a cloth and pulls it over my eyes.

"It's a surprise," I heard him say in my ear as he picked me up bridal style and began to flash step with me in his arms. I giggled as the wind hit my face. When I was younger, I always loved the feeling of wind on my face. Some things never change I guess. Too soon, our trip was over, and I felt Byakuya lower me down.

"Keep your eyes closed," he instructed, and I did as I was told. I felt the blindfold being removed from my eyes. "Okay, you may open your eyes." I slowly opened my eyes and gasped at the sight before me.

We were in a clearing with a waterfall that reflected the moonlight off of it. In the middle of the clearing, there was a blanket set out with a picnic basket on it and some glasses along with two bottles of drinks. It looked like a scene out of a romance movie or something. I guess Byakuya mistook my silence as a bad thing, or it made him worry.

"Do you like it?" he asked, a tinge of worry in his voice. I turned and gave him a big hug.

"It's wonderful," I replied honestly. This seemed to reassure him, and he pulled my face up and gave me a short kiss on the lips before leading me over to the picnic blanket. We sat down across from each other, and he opened the picnic basket.

He pulled out two bentos and passed me one. He then got out two wine glasses. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You do realize I'm underage to drink, Byakuya-taicho," I reminded him teasingly.

"I am aware, Shinkiro-san," he said emphasizing the san slightly and opening one of the bottles and pouring some into each of our glasses. He handed me mine, and I held it awkwardly. My experience with any kind of fancy stuff was very limited. I mean I came from a house hold where I was beaten almost to death every night. Then again, we were eating bentos, so it wasn't that fancy.

I stared at the drink, contemplating for a second before deciding why the heck not. I took a big drink of it, and to my surprise, it tasted really fizzy and really good. No wonder my adopted parents always drank this stuff.

We ate our meal in a comfortable silence. The bento was really good, and it was nice to just sit out there and listen to the water. I always preferred night time to day time. I have no clue why. After we finished eating, I had the courage to tell him what I was think about the drink as I sipped the last of mine down.

"I'm surprise! I thought alcohol was bitter. This is actually pretty good," I said with a smile. Byakuya chuckled. My eyes widened. What the heck did he do to my drink?! Am I gonna die?! Crap, this isn't about the hair clippy thing is it? Because it was just a joke and-

"That's because it doesn't contain alcohol. It's sparkling grape juice," Byakuya said, interrupting my train of thought. The smirk was pretty evident on his face, and I just looked at him.

"I hate you," I said with a completely serious face.

"No, you don't," he responded, not missing a beat, and then he pulled up the other bottle, "I did bring some wine though, in case you would like to try some. I was not going to force it on you though. And if it would make you feel more comfortable, we can wait till we are around Rukia, Ise-san, or Matsumoto-san for you to try some."

I smiled at him. He was just so serious and stoic all the time for the most part. Yet, he was also almost always thoughtful when it came to people he cared about. I don't think he appreciates my teasing most of the time, but whatever.

"1. I would feel really awkward being around you and Rukia-chan both for any amount of time with stuff like wine and stuff. I mean I feel awkward enough that I'm dating my best friend's older brother. 2. Nanao-chan would kill me if she found out I was trying alcohol before I was of age. And last but finally not least, 3. I would not trust Rangiku-chan to not try and get me drunk off of my arse and embarrass me," I explained exasperatedly, "You really don't understand girls do you?" I was teasing, and I hoped he could tell.

He merely looked at me for a second, and next thing I know I was lifted off the ground and pushed into a tree, not hard enough to hurt, just hard enough to surprise me and knock the wind out of me. I looked up and Byakuya's face was only inches from mine, and he was staring me straight in the face.

The whole situation would have been rather nice for someone who didn't have PTSD from being beaten for years on end. I couldn't help it. I started crying, thoroughly ruining my makeup, and kicking at him.

"Let me go!" I yelled trying to push him back. I held out my hand to push him off, and in my surprise, I felt a surge of spiritual energy rise in my palm as I pushed him back. I was even more surprised to see a blast of red light go right towards Byakuya. His speed allowed him to dodge it, but the blast caused an explosion when it hit the trees behind him.

Byakuya looked at me in shock and then disgust, and I quickly turned and began flashstepping as fast as I could to the gates of the Seireitei. I ran out of the gates and entered Rukongai, tears streaming down my face. I know what that was. When Oto-san was telling me about the different strengths of hollows, he mentioned how the higher strength ones, known as vasto lorde and arrancars, could use a blast of spiritual energy called a cero.

I had blasted a cero at Byakuya in my panic, and I know no matter what I did from here on out, I could not return back to this place I had begun to call home ever again.


	16. Chapter 16: Another New Beginning

Chapter 16: Another New Beginning

I ran and ran the night I fired a cero at a man that if you would have asked, I would have told you I loved. I know this is stupid because honestly I barely knew the guy, and I was willing to date him. Sigh. Anyways, I kept trying to sense his spiritual pressure to see if he was following me. Maybe I was hoping he would. I don't know.

Everything has gone to the best day ever, to complete and utter crap in a matter of couple of days. I kept pushing myself. Make my flashstep faster and smoother. I need to get as far away as possible. I need to stay away from people. What if I hurt them? I don't know what to do. After running for I have no clue how long, my vision began to blur.

"Shinkiro, stop it. Go back and apologize and ask for help," I heard Aisuhime say in my head, "I could see it in his face. He was worried about you." I laughed without humor. He was disgusted by me, Aisuhime. I apparently have an inner hollow, and no noble could understand what it's like to be in my position. I could feel her shaking her head as everything went black.

"Oh goodness! Child, are you alright?" I woke to hearing an alarmed voice. I sat up quickly and looked around, seeing an old lady and holding my head in my hands. My head hurt so badly. "It's because you haven't eaten yet," Kagekishi informed me with a concerned tone. The old lady approached me, and I scooted back.

I didn't want to hurt her. She seemed so kind, and I didn't know how to control this newfound power of mine. She didn't need to get caught in the crossfire if I let my guard down. Plus, I'm pretty sure I just made myself a criminal by what I did last night. Let's see, I attacked a captain. Yup, that's punishable by death. Crap.

"Child, you don't need to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you," the old lady said, slowly approaching me again. I scooted back until my back hit a tree. She just didn't understand.

"I'm not worried about y-you hurting m-me," I said softly, "I-I don't w-want to hurt you. Y-you're kind." I looked at her, my eyes wide in fear. She looked at me with a comforting smile.

"You are running away from a past you're afraid of. How about this: you come stay with me, and I won't ask any questions that I don't need to know the answer to? How does that sound?" the old lady suggested. How could she tell? Was it that obvious?

"You should go with her, Shinkiro. It may give you some time to at least regain normal thought processes," I heard Aisuhime suggest. I sighed as I heard Kagekishi agree. Fine. But if this backfires, it's up to y'all to help me get out of this mess. "We will if you let us, my dear," I heard Aisuhime respond.

I got up slowly and smiled at the older lady as I walked towards her. She returned my smile and understood my answer as she began to walk off. I followed her, and she began to ask her need to know questions.

"What is your name?" she asked, "Remember, this is a fresh start for you, so you may use any name you wish, and I will not know the difference." She winked at me as she said this, and I had a feeling I would really like this lady. I looked around at the trees and said my answer with a sad smile.

"You may call me Sakura," I responded as a tear rolled down my cheek but I quickly wiped it away and asked the woman her name. She gave me a small smile as well.

"You may call me, Nagusame," she replied with a bittersweet tone to her voice as well as we walked into a town. She led me to a small house and opened the door.

"You may want to take that zanpakuto off of your hip though if you do not wish to draw attention to yourself here. Soul reapers are not seen here often," Nagusame-san said very nonchalantly. My eyes widened. Dang this lady was observant.

I nodded and put Aisuhime Kagekishi down into the room she led me into. I hid them under the bed, so they wouldn't get stolen if anyone broke in. Yes, I'm paranoid. So what? I turned to Nagusame.

"Nagusame-san," I said softly and she turned around, "I'm very thankful for this. What will I be doing to repay your kindness?" I wanted to help in any way I can. She smiled at me, obviously surprised. Was she that not used to be treated kindly?

"I own a flower shop here. I could always use some help there," she suggested, and I grinned. I absolutely adored flowers. "I'll take that as a yes," she chuckled, "You start tomorrow at 9am when I open shop. Now get yourself some food, and rest up." I nodded enthusiastically and continued to chat with the older woman as we fixed some food.

That night, I went out to train after Nagusame-san went to sleep. I practiced my swordsmanship until I could barely lift my zanpakuto before returning back to the house to sleep. Nagusame-san woke me up at 7:00am, and I couldn't help but feel bad. I had just gotten into the Gotei 13, and I had thrown it all away. But I knew I couldn't go back no matter how badly I wished I could.

I quickly got dressed and pulled my long hair into a high ponytail. This showed some of the scars on the back of neck, but at this point, I didn't care. My life had been taken from me, not once, but twice. Why was life so incredibly cruel? Oh well, no use crying about it now.

We got to the flower shop, and Nagusame immediately put me to work. This was tough stuff, especially when you learn that you have no talent growing plants. On the bright side, we did learn that I'm fairly decent at making flower arrangements.

It was then that I recognized the wrappers and the types of bouquets that Nagusame did. She was the one who made the bouquet Byakuya gave me. This in and of itself almost made me start bawling my eyes out, but I stopped myself because I remembered the way he looked at me after I fired that cero.

He was disgusted with me. There was no chance he still cared about me, and that was that. I just had to accept it. I had another chance at a new beginning, and I was not going to lose it.


	17. Chapter 17: Confidence Boost

Chapter 17: Confidence Boost

"Nagusame-san, here's the bouquet you asked for," I said as a nervously handed her the bouquet I made. It had been just over 6 months since I had begun living and working with Nagusame-san, and she had never approved of one of my bouquets. I did not have much of a knack for flower arranging, and Nagusame-san had some insanely high standards.

"Hmmm…." Nagusame-san murmured as she took the bouquet and began to scrutinize it intently. This continued for a good three minutes as she turned the bouquet around, looking at it from every angle. Suddenly, she smiled at me.

"This is very good, Sakura-chan," she said with an approving smile. I grinned. Oh and yes, she still calls me Sakura. I think she knows that that's not my real name, but she also doesn't pry. That's part of why I like her so much.

"Thank you, Nagusame-san," I said excitedly. We continued working throughout the day. She would make most of the bouquets, and I would do miscellaneous chores such as sweeping and watering the plants. Today, she even let me make a couple of the flower arrangements.

After we finished closing the down the store, we returned to the cottage, and I grabbed my zanpakuto before heading out to the woods. I trained every night. I don't know why. I guess part of me hoped that there was a chance I could one day return to being a soul reaper again. I really enjoyed it the short time I was one.

"You could always go back and apologize," I heard Kagekishi say as he and Aisuhime materialized next to me. This was another reason I practiced every night. My zanpakuto were amazing, and I loved being able to grow stronger with them. My aim with Aisuhime was spot on now most of the time.

"You know I can't do that. I committed an offense bad enough to have me killed on sight," I responded bitterly. Even after six months, the sting of what happened that night still had not worn off. Gosh, I hate that part of myself. Like anyone in the freaking soul society would understand and be okay with me having an inner hollow, let alone Kuchiki-taicho. The idea of me being a peasant bothered him enough. Imagine how he'd react to this.

"Shinkiro, stop it. You can't help that. The fact that it's only shown itself a couple of times should tell you how strong you are over it," Aisuhime said encouragingly. Neither of them liked it very much when I was hard on myself, which unfortunately, has become more and more common here lately.

I missed the soul society. I missed my squad, my friends, and my life. I loved what I had back there, but I'm too big of a chicken to go back. I just need to find the confidence to go back and explain to the head captain. Who cares what Kuchiki-taicho thinks? Without him being there, I'd be just as happy if not happier about going back.

"We can still hear your thoughts, Shinkiro," Kagekishi said chuckling, "And that's what I like to hear. Now let's get back to the soul society." I smiled until I heard an ear-shattering screech from a hollow. I turned around to see not one, but three hollows. This surprised me, but they seemed pretty weak.

I unsheathed my zanpakuto and smirked. The hollows all three began to converge on me at once. Right as they were about to get to me I yelled two words and let my spiritual energy explode out of me, "Shimmer Kagekishi!" I immediately began hidden in the shadows and came up behind them sending the mist through all three of the hollows' masks and turning it to ice. This destroyed the heads of the all 3 of the hollows quite quickly.

I heard someone clapping slowly behind me. I turned around and jumped back in surprise to see an arrancar. He had mask remnants over his right eye and seemed slightly on the psychotic side.

"Who the heck are you?" I demanded holding my zanpakuto out in front of me in a defensive stance. The arrancar laughed maniacally before drawing his sword as well.

"My name is not really any of your business, but since you'll be dead here soon, I guess I can tell you. My name is Mizuki. Those hollows were just to weaken you, and since you poured out all of your spiritual energy fighting them, you'll be an easy kill now," the arrancar laughed again.

I rolled my eyes, and I could sense Aisuhime and Kagekishi doing the same inside my head. This guy is a complete and utter nut job. Oh well, we can shut him up pretty fast, don't you guys think? "Shinkiro, no. Don't use that against this guy. You haven't mastered it yet. Sure we achieved it pretty early, but we aren't ready to use this in a battle yet," Kagekishi said seriously.

"Fine," I sighed out loud and the arrancar looked confused, and I just smiled.

"I don't know what you look so confident about. I've already seen the ability of your zanpakuto, and I know how to counter it! Your arrogance will be your downfall" Mizuki said, obviously annoyed by the fact that I wasn't panicking before charging at me.

I flash stepped behind him a decent distance and smiled, "Strike, Aisuhime." Mizuki turned around with wide eyes as a shot an arrow right into his heart. The moment the arrow hit, a spike of ice went through him as well. That was part of Aisuhime's ability. She deadens whatever I hit with the arrow.

"Your arrogance was your downfall, Mizuki. Do not assume you know everything about your opponent based on seeing one tiny battle," I said seriously as he disintegrated. I quickly ran back to the cottage.

When I got back, I was relieved to see that Nagusame-san was still up. I walked into the living room, and she turned to greet me, but it was hard for me to meet her gaze.

"What is it, child? Is there something you need to tell me?" Nagusame-san asked me bluntly. I nodded and took a deep breath. "Well? Out with it!" she said impatiently.

"I think it is time I returned to the soul society," I said nervously, "My actual name is Shinkiro Ukitake. 3rd seat of the tenth division and adopted daughter of Captain Jushiro Ukitake of the thirteenth division." I looked at Nagusame-san, nervous of what her reaction would be. She just smiled at me.

"I knew you were a soul reaper from the first day I found you, and I figured you wouldn't stay here forever. You have the spirit of a fighter," she responded happily. I smiled and gave her a hug.

"Thank you so much for everything, Nagusame-san. I'd love to come visit you from time to time if that's okay," I said with a smile. She looked surprised but nodded.

"Anytime you'd like to visit, you're more than welcome. Now go pack up your thinks so you can return home!" Nagusame-san ordered with a small smile. I nodded excitedly and ran to my room and packed up my things quickly before running out the door and flash stepping all the way to the soul society.


	18. Chapter 18: I'm Coming Home

Chapter 18: I'm Coming Home

I flash stepped all the way to the soul society. By the time I got to the gates, it was already morning. The guards stopped me when I got there.

"Who goes there?" the guard asked. I looked up at him.

"Shinkiro Ukitake, 3rd seat of the tenth division," I said calmly. The guard's eyes widened in surprise. I guess I couldn't blame the guy. I mean I did go missing for 6 months.

"We have orders to take you directly to the head captain if we spotted you," the guard said nervously as he jumped down and stood beside me with his hand on his sword in case I tried to run away. I chuckled a little at this.

"That works out well then doesn't it? I actually was on my way there. I don't mind an escort though," I said teasingly. He didn't seem to find it very funny. Oh well. We walked in a way too serious silence all the way to the head captain's office. I hope Kuchiki-taicho didn't snitch on me for accidentally blasting a cero at him. Crap.

The guard knocked on the head captain's door, and I heard a faint voice say "Enter". The guard opened the door, and I walked in with the calm composure I learned while I was under Kuchiki-taicho. Ugh. I really do hate things got messed up between us. He's a pretty good guy in general. Oh well.

"Well well, look who has returned," Yamamoto-soutaicho said calmly, "Would you like to explain where you have been for the past 6 months?" I looked him in the eye, and he didn't seem very angry. I sighed. Maybe this was my chance to explain everything.

"I guess Kuchiki-taicho didn't tell you," I said questioningly and he shook his head, "I accidentally shot a cero at him." He looked shocked.

"Look, I didn't know I could do that. He did something that reminded me of some very bad memories of my past, and I panicked and somehow fired a cero at him. I figured no one would believe me over him and that I was going to get arrested and killed for accidentally attacking a captain. I also thought I would I be in trouble for having an inner hollow," I explained sadly.

"You know, Shinkiro, we do understand accidents in the soul society, especially after what happened to Rukia Kuchiki. The inner hollow isn't your fault, and as for you accidentally attacking Kuchiki-taicho, if he thought it was worth having you arrested for, he would have reported it," the head captain said kindly, "Also there are some people who have been very worried about you. You should go see your father as soon as you leave here. He has been worried sick about you."

I nodded and began to worry. Oto-san was already pretty sick. I hope me being gone didn't cause him to get more sick. The head captain dismissed me, and I headed over to the thirteenth division. I got to Oto-san's office and knocked. I heard a faint "come in", and I quickly opened the door and entered.

"Oto-san," I said happily with tears in my eyes. He looked up from his paperwork in shock and ran up and hugged me. That was enough to make me break down. I really missed him and all my friends. Oto-san was technically my only family, and I felt horrible for not telling him anything.

"Where have you been, Shinkiro? I have been so worried about you," he asked as he released me from the hug and looked at me inquisitively. I looked up at him sadly and explained everything to him. When I was done, he was very understanding, and told me if I ever disappeared like that again, I was so grounded. That made me laugh a lot.

"Now, Shinkiro, you should go visit Byakuya and Rukia. They have both been very worried about you," Oto-san said seriously. I laughed.

"No offense, Oto-san, but there's no way Kuchiki-taicho was worried about me," I said bitterly, "But I will go visit Rukia-chan." He looked at me sadly, and I just walked off towards the 6th division. Usually Rukia-chan was at the 13th division, but based on what Oto-san had told me, I could find her and Kuchiki-taicho near each other. I got to the office and knocked. I heard a stoic "enter" and I took a deep breath before opening the door.

I walked in to see Kuchiki-taicho, Renji-kun, and Rukia-chan. They all looked up, and their eyes widened as though they had seen a ghost. Well that's funny because we're all kind of technically dead.

"Um hi guys! Long time no see," I said my voice shaking a little with a nervous smile. Rukia-chan ran up and tackle-hugged me, almost knocking me over. I smiled slightly, returning her hug.

"I thought you were dead," I heard Rukia-chan saying sadly as she sniffled into my shirt. I patted her back comfortingly. I didn't realize six months would make people assume that, but I guess she had reasonable thought for that. Or not. Each of the Kuchiki siblings have their own odd quirks.

"G-gomen nasai, Rukia-chan," I apologized sadly. I looked up at Kuchiki-taicho. His face was back to the normal stoic look it always has. Oh great. This is where he ignores me or tells me to get the heck out of his office or worse-…

"Renji, Rukia, I need to talk to Ogawa-san alone," he said calmly. I glared at him. Oh yay. It's the worse option. Of course it is. The two addressed left while giving me pitying looks. As soon as the door shut, it was my turn to be blunt.

"My name is no longer Ogawa, Kuchiki-taicho!" I snapped angrily, "I'm not the one who looked at someone like they were a monster when I gave them a freaking flashback!" Kuchiki-taicho glared back at me, but said nothing.

"What's wrong? You think I'm a monster, don't you Kuchiki-taicho?" I sneered and then starting shouting, "Well guess what you'd be a monster too if you were raped every day for 4 years from 4 to 8 years old! And then were beaten for 10 years after that. When you pushed me into that tree, you gave me a flashback of the first time my adopted father in the world of the living raped me!" Tears were coming out of my eyes at this point.

"Shinkiro," Kuchiki-taicho was right next to me before I could blank. I looked up at him in shock. His tone was not cruel or angry. It was calm and borderlining…apologetic? What the heck?

"Gomen nasai, Shinkiro. You're not a monster, and I'm sorry I made you feel that way," he said calmly before slowly wrapping his arms around me, "You are much more than that." My eyes widened more before returning his hug. He leaned down to kiss me, and I pulled away. When I looked at him, he looked kind of hurt and then his face went stoic again. Crap. I hurt his feelings.

"Wait a minute, Kuchiki-taicho. Hear me out," I said quickly. He looked at me skeptically but stood still.

"I still like you a lot, but we can't pretend nothing has happened. Can we start over? Get to know each other better and stuff before we rush into a relationship again. I mean I'd love to spend more time with you and stuff, and I'd definitely be interested in us being in a relationship again. Just not right now ya know," I explained rather awkwardly. I looked up at Kuchiki-taicho and was happy to see that he smirked slightly.

"That sounds like a plan. We may start by evaluating how far you have digressed in your 6 months without training," he said matter-of-factly, "And I told you to call me Byakuya." I smiled as I started to head out the door. This might just work.


	19. Chapter 19: Let's Try This Again

Chapter 19: Let's Try This Again

I still had a couple of other stops to make, so that no one killed me for not telling them I was back. One of which was to my captain's office. Oh geez. I'm pretty sure hell froze over based on Byakuya-taicho's response to me being back, and there's only one person I know who had the power to make hell freeze over that bad.

I knocked on the door to Hitsugaya-taicho's office and heard an annoyed "come in". I entered and was surprised to see Rangiku at her desk doing her paperwork. Yup. Hell hath indeed frozen over. Multiple times. They both looked up at me, and their eyes nearly popped out of their skulls.

"Ano (Um)…. Konichiwa Hitsugaya-taicho…" I said with a nervous smile, "I know I have some major explaining to do, but I'd rather explaining it in private if you don't mind." Taicho glared at me for minute before sending Rangiku out. Rangiku looked kind of hurt, but I really didn't want to tell anyone I didn't feel needed to know about my inner hollow.

"Now what the hell do you think merits you disappearing for 6 months?" Hitsugaya-taicho yelled at me. I flinched back. I knew if hell freezing over was a result of Taicho's rage. Sigh. I wish I wasn't the source of it though. I'd much rather leave that to Rangiku-chan.

"G-gomen nasai, Hitsugaya-taicho," I apologized sadly, "I really am… I just… I fired a cero at Byakuya-taicho and found out that I had an inner hollow. I panicked, so I fled and trained myself to control it. I was also scared, but I'm back now. I can control my inner hollow easily, and um." I whispered the next part, and his eyes widened.

"Does anyone know about this?" he demanded to know.

"Not the second part. No. The other part is known by you, the Head captain, Jushiro-oto-san, and Byakuya-taicho. I'm keeping it on a need to know basis," I replied calmly. Toshiro-taicho nodded in understand, but still looked annoyed. I looked down sadly. "Gomen nasai, Hitsugaya-taicho for my absence, and I will accept any punishment you see fit," I said softly. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Call me Toshiro, and I think what you have been through is punishment. From now on, if something is going on, talk to us. We are your squad and are here to help each other," Toshiro-taicho says with a comforting smirk. I looked down and smiled at my captain.

"He's right, Shinkiro-chan! We're like family here!" Rangiku-chan exclaimed bursting through the door and hugging me way too tight. My face got a look of terror on it because I wondered if she heard our whole conversation. What if she told everyone?

"Shinkiro-chan, it's okay! I heard everything, but I swear I won't tell a soul," she said seriously, "Now, we have to go out and celebrate the return of our third chair and friend!" Rangiku-chan got really excited, "We have to invite everyone! Kuchiki-taicho, Rukia-chan, Ukitake-taicho… Wait are you and Kuchiki-taicho okay? Like I don't want to invite him if things with y'all aren't okay!" I smiled softly. I missed my squad so much.

"Hai (Yes), we're fine. We agreed to kind of start over, but yeah…," I could feel my face turn red as I thought about Byakuya-taicho. I hoped things worked out. Rangiku-chan smirked. "Awesome, oh and we need to invite Yumichika-kun too…" Rangiku-chan started and then I facepalmed. Crap. I've got to go visit Yumichika-kun. He's probably been really worried!

"Sorry, Rangiku-chan, Toshiro-taicho," I said quickly as I ran towards the door, "I have to go so Yumichika-kun! He's gonna be really upset with me!" Taicho nodded and that was all I needed for me to begin shunpoing to the 11th Squad which was nearby. I ran straight towards the training fields where I could sense the familiar spiritual pressure of my best friend and guardian angel as I used to think of him. My reminiscing was interrupted by the voice of a rather annoying baldy.

"What the hell?! Is Ukitake-taicho's brat finally back in town?!" I heard Ikkaku yell from below me as he charged with his sword and sheath. I shrugged and heard Aisuhime giggle, "This is going to be fun." You're not allowed to help me right now, I reminded her. I felt her get disappointed. Kagekishi too. I simply whipped out my zanpakto and blocked baldy's oncoming attack and dodged his sheath by jumping onto it. I quickly ran across it and kicked him in the face. I jumped off and landed on my feet and turned to glare at him.

"What kind of greeting was that, Baldy?!" I yelled with a small smirk. I suddenly got grabbed in a tackle hug. I laughed and turned to see Yumichika-kun. "Konichiwa, Yumichika-kun!" I said happily. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and smiled.

"I thought you were dead. I swear if you ever leave without telling me again, you're going to be in so much trouble," Yumichika-kun said sadly, "Also, I'm pretty sure Kuchiki-taicho would personally chase you down." I blushed at this. I had missed Byakuya-taicho a lot. I hoped he would agree to go the party tonight. Oh right! The party!

"Yumichika-kun," I said with a small smile, "Rangiku-chan wants us all to go out to celebrate me returning tonight. Will you come?" He smiled at me and nodded, and then looked behind me and smiled. I turned around to see Byakuya-taicho. What was he doing in the 11th squad? We weren't even near the 6th squad.

"Shinkiro-san," Byakuya-taicho said calmly, "I need to speak with you in private." His tone told me I didn't have much of a choice. I looked apologetically at Yumichika-kun and Baldy-san. Baldy just ignored me, and Yumichika-kun smiled his encouragement. I smiled at them and followed Byakuya-taicho who had already started walking away.

We walked in silence to the 6th squad and eventually and went towards the Kuchiki manor. At this point, I decided to speak up. I was very confused. "Ano (Um), Byakuya-taicho… Why are we heading towards the Kuchiki manor?" I asked shyly. He ignored me and kept walking until we reached the gardens. What does he want? Is he mad? Finally, we reached the center of the garden. For once, it was completely empty, which was weird especially for this time of day.

"Where is everyone?" I asked shyly, not wanting to annoy him but getting a little annoyed myself. He ignored me again and continued walking. Okay, now I was annoyed. What the hell is with this guy? He seemed so happy to see me, and now he's completely ignoring me. I don't understand-. I was interrupted by bumping into Byakuya-taicho who had stopped. "Gomen nasai, Kuchiki-taicho," I said smally. I felt him tense up before I felt him turn around and grab my chin in his hand and tilted my face up. I looked down, not wanting to see the annoyed look on his face. I still didn't understand why he wasn't pissed at me and just wanted to go back to how things were.

"Look at me, Shinkiro-chan," he said firmly but softly. The way he said my name made my heart stop before looking up at him. What I saw in his eyes made me freeze. How could I have not seen it before?


	20. Chapter 20: Getting To Know You

Chapter 20: Getting to Know You

"Look at me, Shinkiro-chan," he said firmly but softly. The way he said my name made my heart stop before looking up at him. What I saw in his eyes made me freeze. How could I have not seen it before? What I saw in those usually cold eyes was something much different. Was it worry? Had he not been mad at me after all this time after all?

"Gomen nasai. I brought you here with no explanation," he said calmly, "There is no one here because I wanted to spend time here with you alone." I froze, remembering what happened last time we spent time alone together, the day I left. He seemed to notice my hesitation.

"Shinkiro-chan, there are people nearby, and I promise I have no intention of doing like that again," he said in a very calming voice and then pointed to the center of the garden that was surrounded by sakura trees. In the center of the clearing was a table cloth with a picnic basket on it. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I thought we were starting over and getting to know each other, Kuchiki-taicho," I said matter-o-factly. His eyes narrowed at me for a moment before sighing and grabbing my hand gently and leading me to the picnic.

"This is a chance for us to do just that, Ogawa-san," he said in a more standoffish tone. I glared at him. He knew that name was taboo with me.

"My last name is Ukitake, Kuchiki-taicho. For someone who wants to get to know me better, you sure are getting off on the wrong foot," I snapped angrily. He merely sat down on the table cloth and waited for me to do the same. Figuring if I tried to leave, he could easily catch me and not wanting to make him super mad, I plopped down with my arms crossed and glaring at him.

"You also know my name is Byakuya, which I have asked you to call me multiple times," he retorted obviously annoyed as well, "Now that we have learned what to call each other, maybe we can get to know each other more. I'll start. Where exactly have you been for 6 months without thinking to contact anyone? There were many people here worried sick about you." That hurt. My mind automatically went to Oto-san. I was horrible daughter to him so shortly after he adopted me. I blinked back tears.

"Well excuse me for being scared after I committed a crime that could get me killed," I said bitterly, "I was living in a Rukongai district with a kind old woman who allowed me to work with her at the flower shop she owned. I did this until my wounds were healed, and I realized I didn't belong there. I also hadn't told her the truth about me being a soul reaper, so I felt bad living with her for so long. I didn't even tell her my real name till I was ready to leave." I remembered the woman fondly. I would have to repay her somehow, some day. I looked up at Byakuya-taicho who had a look of understanding in his eyes.

"I wasn't mad, Shinkiro-chan. You could have stayed. We could have talked about it," Byakuya-taicho said flatly, "What you did was foolish. You could have gotten killed out there." Okay, message received. I made him worry. I overreacted. Time to turn this interrogation into me getting to know him too.

"It is what it is. I did what I did, and I cannot change it. Now, if your interrogation is over, it's my turn to ask a question," I said obviously hurt, "Byakuya-taicho-" "I told you it's just Byakuya." "Fine, Byakuya, if you weren't mad, why didn't you follow me? Was it beneath you to go searching for a peasant like myself?" Two can play at this blame game. I looked up to see him with an incredibly stoic look on his face. Great… I pissed him off. Oops.

"Shinkiro," he started calmly, "I have regretted not searching for you that day every day since you left. It had nothing to do with your social status. I was in shock and thought since you were mad enough to fire a cero at me, that maybe I wasn't the person you would want to find you. By the time I decided to go look for you, I couldn't sense your spiritual pressure. You were too far away. I wanted to look for you, but in order to do that, I would have to have had reported it to the Head Captain, which would have made things harder for you." I looked at him, shocked. "Told you he cared the whole time," I heard Aisuhime say in my head. Shut up. We're having a moment I told her back in my head.

At this point, I just couldn't help it, a tear rolled down my cheek, and then another and another, until I was silently crying, looking at the ground. I could no longer look Byakuya in the face. There had been a group of people who cared about me, and I left them like the coward I always had been.

After what felt like forever, I felt a warm hand grip my chin and tilt my face up. I refused to look up though. I didn't want to see the pain I caused anyone anymore. I wasn't worth that.

"Shinkiro," he said softly, "Please, look at me." His tone took me off guard, and I looked up to see his face inches from my own. I felt my heart stop. His eyes weren't pained. They were worried and kind, as though looking at me too harshly would cause me to break. At this point, that wouldn't entirely be inaccurate in all honestly. "It's my turn to ask a question," he said calmly, his warm breath hitting my face, "Can I kiss you? I know we agreed to take time to get to know each other, but I think we still can while-"

I interrupted his nervous ramble by placing my lips firmly on his. I applied more pressure after I realized he wasn't pushing me away. After a second, he kissed me back, sweetly and more passionate than he had in the past. I responded with just as much passion. At this point, we were still sitting at the picnic, and he snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me to his lap. My arms went around his neck, and we continued to kiss for another couple of minutes until we were both out of breath.

The kiss broke, and I pulled back and looked at him to gauge his reaction. To my entertainment, he seemed to be doing the same. We were still in each other's arms and neither of us seemed particularly interested in leaving anytime soon. He pulled me in to his arms tighter and rested his chin on my head.

"Do not leave again," Byakuya ordered, "Or I will personally see to it that everyone in the Seireitei is looking for you." I shivered, overprotective much? I smiled though and chuckled lightly. "Is that a threat, Byakuya-taicho?" I said jokingly as I looked up at him with a small smile on my lips. "No," he said stoically, "That is a promise. Also, it's-" "It's Byakuya-kun, I know I know," I finished his sentence for him. "No. It's just Byakuya," he corrected me with a small smile of his own. My heart stopped I swear. His smile was breathtaking.

"As I was saying though, I think we can get to know each other while being in a relationship. As I understand, that is the point of the relationship, is it not?" Byakuya said calmly. He had a point. I nodded with a smile. "Just to clarify, this means that you're mine officially, and you can't run away again just because something bad happens," he said seriously. I looked at him nervously.

"B-Byakuya…" I started nervously, "I want this. You know I do, but I want to talk to my father about it first. I just got back. I don't want to rush into anything. I-I'm scared." He looked at me confused, but sighed and looked at me with understanding.

"You're right. I should not be pressuring you like this when you're still getting used to being back," he said rather reserved in his tone, "Here, I didn't bring lunch for nothing. Let's eat before you go." I smiled, happy that he was understanding about this. I gladly took the bento he handed me and began to eat.

For the next hour or so, we spent the time getting to know each other. I asked him about his favorite things, and he asked me about my preferred fighting styles, which was just like him. I learned that Rukia-chan really was his world, and that if anything happened to her, he wouldn't forgive himself. He told me about his promise to Hisana-san to keep Rukia-chan safe, and the promise he made his parents to not break the rules. I sighed inwardly. Being interested in me was against the rules he swore not to break. I also invited him to the party tonight which he accepted.

From what I could tell, Rangiku-chan was making this whole thing way more of a big deal than I was even remotely comfortable with. She sent me a hell butterfly telling me all the people she invited, which was a lot, and that she had rented out a club in order to celebrate. She also requested that I meet her at 3pm to go shopping and get ready before the party. I looked at the time. It was 2:45pm. Crap. I didn't want to leave.

"Byakuya, I'm so sorry, but Rangiku-chan wants me to meet with her to go shopping and get ready for tonight," I said dejectedly. He looked at me in understanding.

"That's fine," he said calmly getting up and walking me to the entrance of the manner. I gave him a big smile.

"Arigato, Byakuya! I'll see you tonight!" I said enthusiastically as I ran to my division to meet Rangiku-chan. I was nervous, but I also couldn't wait!


	21. Chapter 21: Regaining My Confidence

Chapter 21: Regaining My Confidence

I shunpoed all the way to the tenth squad to meet up with Rangiku. I was late. Whoops… I almost ran into my captain in the process. He looked up at me curiously with his normal scowl. "Shinkiro-chan! You're late!" Rangiku said annoyed, "Now, we don't have much time to go shopping, so you have to let me and taicho pick out what you're going to wear!" I sweatdropped and looked at Toshiro-taicho apologetically. He glared at Rangiku-chan, but surprisingly didn't argue. From the office, we shunpoed all the way to the shopping district of the Seireitei. We stopped at a store, and my eyes widened. This looked way too expensive for me.

"Shinkiro-chan, this is my welcome home gift, so don't worry about it okay?" Rangiku-chan said as though reading my mind, and I smiled at her in thanks. "I really don't understand why I had to come along," Toshiro-taicho muttered angrily as we entered the store.

"Gomen nasai, Toshiro-taicho," I said smally. I really felt bad that he was dragged along. He looked at me and shook his head, "Someone has to make sure she doesn't give your father a heart attack by what she puts you in." I giggled at that.

"Come on, Shinkiro-chan! We're short on time!" Rangiku-chan said as she pushed me into a changing room with a huge stack of clothes. Dang… That was fast. I looked through the stack. There was almost nothing here I would voluntarily wear. "Come on, Shinkiro-chan! Put one on and show us already!" Rangiku-chan urged. I sighed and quickly threw on the first thing in the stack that didn't look too inappropriate.

I came out of the changing room and Rangiku-chan smirked and Toshiro-taicho turned red. I looked at them shyly. I was in a short, short sleeved coal gray kimono style dress with cherry blossom petals flowing from the bottom to the top. The strap across my waist was the same color pink as the cherry blossom petals. It hugged my curves and the dip in the front went a little further down than I was comfortable with and exposed some of my cleavage. The worst part was though, is that you could see most of my scars. Especially the scary burn ones on my legs.

"Shinkiro-chan, you look amazing in that!" Rangiku-chan exclaimed smiling. I blushed and looked down. "But… I-it shows my scars really bad," I said sadly, very self-conscious as I looked at the scars on my legs. "Ukitake-san," I hear my captain say, and I looked at him nervously, "You're scars are fine. They are a part of you and proof of your strength. Kuchiki-taicho accepts them and so will everyone else. You look very nice in that." That made me happy. Toshiro-taicho wasn't one to be real comforting or anything, so the fact that he put up with all of this to comfort me made me feel much better.

"A-arigato, Toshiro-taicho," I said getting teared up. Rangiku-chan hugged me, "Shinkiro-chan! You have to quit being so cute! Everyone will end up falling for you! Now come on! Let's buy this, and I picked out some shoes for you too! We need to get our makeup and hair done!" I sighed and laughed lightly before hurrying back into the changing room and changing back into my robes. I threw the clothes over the door to Rangiku-chan and went out the door to see her already paying for the clothes. We all left the store after I thanked Rangiku-chan relentless. Toshiro-taicho split from us as Rangiku-chan and I walked to her apartment. We quickly got into her apartment and began getting ready.

"Shinkiro-chan, can I do your hair and makeup?" Rangiku-chan asked excitedly and in a tone that told me that I couldn't really argue with her. "Hai(Yes). I guess so," I said a little nervous. She squealed in excitement and then began to pin back my bangs which by now had grown out to where they framed my face. I feel her begin to tug on my hair and pull it back into a high ponytail which made me nervous because this way, part of my back would show with the dress, and I had a rather large scar that ran down my back. Oh well. I guess there's no use hiding them anymore.

After Rangiku-chan and I finished getting ready, she let me look in the mirror. I was shocked. My hair was pulled back into a sleek high ponytail with the exception of my bangs which hung on both sides to frame my face. She left my lavender locks their normal curly ways aside from them being in a ponytail. The makeup up she put on me was pretty subtle. She had put on a light coat of mascara on eyelashes and a thin layer of black eyeliner around my eyes further highlighting their ice blue color. She also had put on that same cherry flavored lipgloss that she used on me on Byakuya and I's first date. I flinched slightly at the memory.

"Oi, Shinkiro-chan! Here are the shoes I got for you!" Rangiku-chan threw me a pair of coal gray open-toed 6 inch stiletto heels. Laughing lightly about the comment Toshiro-taicho had mentioned about me giving Oto-san a heart attack, I put on the shoes and walked around a little to get used to them. Rangiku-chan smirked her approval. She looked stunning as always. She had on a simple long navy blue dress with a very low neckline and a very high slit with a pair of matching stiletto heels. At that point we heard a knock on the door.

"Who issss ittttt?" Rangiku-chan asked in a sing song voice. A very familiar voice answered, "It's Jushiro Ukitake. I was told I could find my daughter here and wanted to walk her to her welcoming party." I grinned and walked quickly to the door and opened it to see my father whose jaw dropped slightly from what I was wearing.

"Gomen nasai, Oto-san… Rangiku-chan insisted," I said apologetically with a shy smile. He just shook his head and smiled. "This is what I get for adopting a grown up to be my child," he joked before stepping out of the way of the door so that I could get outside and winked at the sad face I gave him, "I wouldn't have it any other way." I grinned at this and took my father's arm as we started to head out. "I'll catch you guys at the party!" Rangiku-chan said waving to us. As we walked to the club, I looked up at Oto-san, not knowing how to bring up the thing about Byakuya and me.

"What's wrong, Shinkiro-chan?" Oto-san asked stopping. I looked at him nervously. Was I that easy to read? "Yes, you are." I heard Kagekishi say in my head. I hushed him. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" I heard Oto-san insist. I looked at him shyly. "Well, I wanted to ask your advice about something," I said nervously. "Well, let's hear it! I can't guarantee I'll know the answer, but I'll do my best to help," he said encouragingly. I smiled.

"Well, it's about Byakuya," I said nervously. "So you two are already back on a first name basis I see," he teased. I nodded nervously and continued, "Yes… He wants us to be in a relationship again, and I'm nervous about it. He said that it's normal for people to get to know each other through relationships, and I've never actually had a relationship before. And he's been married. What if I do something wrong? What if I don't meet the expectations of those around him?" I felt myself rambling and getting more upset, and Oto-san sat a comforting hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eyes with a serious look on his face.

"Byakuya-taicho is a very well respected man in the Soul Society, and he's well-liked by the women especially. His standards are very high, and, frankly, I can't think of a girl here who is more capable of meeting those standards. Shinkiro-chan, you are beautiful, kind, smart, determined, and insanely talented; however, it ultimately is up to you if you are ready for a serious relationship with him. I don't believe it will be easy as the Kuchiki elders are not the kindest of people. But please realize, the Ukitake clan is a noble one as well, though not as up there as the Kuchikis. We accepted you. He accepts you. The only thing left is for you to choose to accept yourself and whether or not you will accept Byakuya-taicho," Oto-san lectured seriously. Wow. I'm glad I got to ask him about it. He's so wise.

"Arigato, Oto-san!" I said with a small smile, and with that we continued walking to the club. "Anytime, my daughter," he said with a kind smile. I seriously have the best father in the world. Just saying. When we finally reached the club, I felt my chest tighten. Apparently, our little conversation took longer than I realized. From the noise and the look of the club, everyone else was already there. I took a deep breath, and Oto-san put a reassuring hand on my back as I realized what I needed to do. Tonight was gonna be interesting.


	22. Chapter 22: A Night To Remember

**Chapter 22: A Night To Remember**

-Byakuya's POV-

I arrived at this welcome home party for Shinkiro at the address she gave me. To my surprise, I saw a club that was already pretty noisy from the sounds of it. I was wondering if I had misheard the address she told me, that is until I saw Matsumoto-fuku-taicho from the tenth squad who quickly approached me.

"Ah! Kuchiki-taicho, I'm so glad you could make it!" she said in her typically irritatingly hyper voice. I merely looked at her and walked into the club. At least it was fairly high class. I didn't want to go into a low quality place with my favorite gray suit and pink tie. I had decided to leave my kenseikan (his hair clip things) at home for today. It was not about my nobility. Tonight was about welcoming home one of the most beautiful woman I had ever met.

The party had started, and the club had become increasingly noisier. Yet, there was still know sign of Shinkiro. Was she hurt? Why wasn't she here? She was always early. In the middle of my train of thought, I was alarmed to notice that the club had went almost dead silent. I looked up, and I tried my best to contain my composure. However, the figure in the door way had the ability to make any person's jaw drop.

Shinkiro looked absolutely stunning in her short, coal gray kimono, and were those sakura petals on the bottom? She wore the colors beautifully. I felt a surge of annoyance as I looked around and saw multiple guys drooling over her. That was enough. She is beautiful, but I would not accept these men that looked ready to hit on her at that exact moment. Then, I looked back at her to see her ice blue eyes meeting mine. She was coming towards me with Ukitake-taicho with her. I tried my best to steady myself and appear unaffected as she stopped in front of me.

"Konbonwa, Byakuya," she said in that beautifully soft voice before looking up at me and smiling. Ukitake-taicho nodded at me with an encouraging smile. Had she already talked to him about our conversation earlier? She sure didn't waste any time, which I appreciated. Time was not guaranteed. A lesson I learned in much too hard of a way. Hisana, I'm so sorry, but I truly do care for this girl. She cares for Rukia, and I believe she cares for me as well.

"Konbonwa, Shinkiro," I responded formally, but in a slightly louder tone than necessary. I wanted the men nearby to realize that we were close enough to understand that there was something here. I looked at Shinkiro to see a blush on her cheeks. Wow. She was breathtaking. A slow song came on. This is my chance. I have to ask before-.

"Excuse me, Ukitake-san," a man said coming over to us and looking nervously at Shinkiro, "May I have this dance?" If looks could kill, this man would not even exist at this point. My glare didn't even phase him though as Shinkiro nodded with a friendly smile. I could feel my temper rising. They walked off, and I noticed Ukitake-taicho near me. Maybe I should talk to him as well.

"Ukitake-taicho," I said greeted formally. He turned to me and smiled kindly. "Konbanwa, Byakuya! How are you?" he responded in his typical friendly way. "I've been better. I wanted to talk to you about, Shinkiro," I said straight forwardly. As I said, I hate wasting time. He looked at me, his face becoming more serious, "What about her?"

"Since she is your daughter, I wanted to make clear my intentions to you. I hope to enter a relationship with her, where I can get to know her and protect her," I told him, looking him in the eye to further prove my point. He sighed, and I became slightly nervous, though I didn't show it. "How do you plan to deal with the Kuchiki elders? Especially since your last relationship with a peasant ended so poorly," he asked me, and I glared, "Don't give me that look. Shinkiro has been through enough with her past without worrying about what a group of over critical nobles have to think about her." I sighed. He did have a point, but I was not giving up. I never regretted my time with Hisana, and I've yet to regret time spent with Shinkiro.

"I will take care of the elders. Rukia can teach her what she needs to know. They do not dictate who I am allowed to care for," I said with a slight tone of anger in my voice, "Also, the Ukitake clan is a noble clan as well, so things are different here." Ukitake-taicho shook his head. "You know that they will not see it that way. She is indeed my daughter, but she does not have the blood of my family. The elders will be quick to point that out," he responded, "I know I'm being difficult Byakuya, but she is my daughter. I will not stand for any half-committed relationship for her." I looked at him and understood, but he had to understand to.

"Ukitake-taicho, I want to protect her and make her feel safe, safer than she ever was in the world of the living. She is all I focus on most days, which isn't something that I am used to dealing with," I said honestly, "I am fully committed to her, and if any of the elders has a problem with it, then I will confront them all and let them know just how I feel about her. My feelings are not going away." This was not like me, but I wanted Ukitake-taicho to understand. If he didn't, she wouldn't be able to go through with it either. We had to have his support. I looked to see Ukitake-taicho smiling and nodded. "Good. Now go tell her that," he said, motioning to Shinkiro who was moving towards us. Another slow song had come on, and I was not going to miss this chance again.

-Shinkiro's POV-

After finishing a rather awkward dance with the man who asked me to earlier, I made a beeline straight for Oto-san and Byakuya. To my surprise, another slow song came on and suddenly, Byakuya was right in front of me. He surprised me so much that I almost fell, that is until his arm snaked around my waist and caught me.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, his coal gray eyes staring into my ice blue ones. I blushed and nodded. Then, he wrapped an arm around my waist and grabbed my right hand with his left. From there, he began to lead me in a simple slow dance. Wow. He's a good dancer. I looked at him and decided to point out something I had noticed earlier.

"Byakuya, we match," I said with a small smile. He looked at me and merely nodded, "You look very beautiful, Shinkiro." I felt my face turn beet red and then I looked down nervously, "Even with all my scars showing?" He grabbed my chin in his hand and pulled my face up to look at him. "I promise you no one has even noticed your scars," he said softly, his normal stoic tone gone. I looked him in the eyes and gave him a very rare large smile.

"Shinkiro, I need to talk to you about something. About what I mentioned earlier," he started, but I shook my head. "I told you I would talk to Oto-san about it," I said evenly, and then smiled at him shyly, "And I did." "Well so did I. I want to say something first," he said quickly, "I want to protect you and help you learn to better protect yourself. Please know that I'm serious about pursuing you, and I will not give up easily." Was Byakuya Kuchiki pleading with me? Did Toshiro-taicho freeze hell over again? I saw the look in his eyes that said he was not at all joking.

"Byakuya," I started shyly, "If you can accept me as I am and accept that I am not a noble. I don't know how to be one. I may never learn correctly, and that I have problems with my self-confidence, then I would love to be yours. But only if you're serious." I looked at him nervously, expecting rejection, but to my surprise, as the song was ending, Byakuya pulled my face up and placed his lips firmly on mine. I swear my heart just stopped, but then I realized what was going on and kissed him back.

Suddenly, I heard many oooohhhsss and oh my goshes and we pulled away to see the entire club staring at us with a spot light on us thanks to none other than the dearest lieutenant to the tenth division, Rangiku Matsumoto.

"Let's give it up for the woman of the hour and the reunification of two lonely souls!" She announced happily, "Sorry guys, but she is most certainly not single anymore!" I almost died right then and there. I was going to kill her if I didn't die of embarrassment first. Byakuya tightened his arm around my waist, and I bravely turned to the crowd and waved and smiled. Next thing I know, Rangiku-chan is handing me the microphone. I glared at her before making myself say something.

"A-ano… Arigato gozaimasu, Minna-san(everyone) for coming tonight, and a special thanks to Rangiku Matsumoto-chan for throwing this party for my return. I hope you all enjoy your night. Thank you again," I said becoming more comfortable as I talked. After finishing that, I handed the microphone back to Rangiku-chan and everyone clapped. I smiled kindly, and after the spotlight was gone, and I had greeted everyone, I headed out the door. Byakuya stayed by my side all night and followed me as left. Oto-san had left much earlier because of his health, so it was just Byakuya and I.

"Shinkiro," Byakuya said his voice sounding almost nervous, "Rukia brought this back with me from the world of the living, and I wanted to use it tonight to help keep this memory." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a disposable camera. I smiled sweetly and nodded excitedly. He reached his arm out, and snapped a picture. "Our first picture together," I said happily.

He smirked slightly before kissing my forehead, "Let me take you home. Ukitake-taicho is probably very worried about you." I looked at him kind of disappointed. "When do you think I can see you again, Byakuya?" I mean know we live in the same city, but our work places and homes were on opposite sides of the Seireitei. Plus he was super important and busy. "I have dinner with Rukia every night when she is not out with her friends. Also, your old room is still empty. You are always welcome to come stay a night or so with us," he suggested. I smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Could we do training sessions on Saturdays or in the mornings again?" I asked sheepishly. He looked at me shocked, but then nodded in approval. "That would be beneficial for your squad and for allowing us to learn more about each other," he noted, obviously interested in the idea. After agreeing to the resumed training sessions, we walked comfortably in silence to the Ukitake manor hand in hand. We did not shunpo as we were in no hurry to leave each other's side.

Finally, we arrived at my home. We stood on the doorstep, and Byakuya planted a chaste kiss on my lips. "Good night, Shinkiro. Sleep well," he said stoically before flash stepping away. I sighed happily. This night could not have gone better, well minus Rangiku-chan bringing all the attention onto us after we kissed. I walked into the house quietly and went straight to take a shower and clean off all of my makeup. As I stepped out of the bathroom in my pajamas, I jumped when I saw Oto-san waiting for me.

"So, did you enjoy the party?" he asked me with a knowing smile. I just grinned and hugged him tightly. "Arigato, Oto-san," I whispered happily before letting go. We said good night, and I went straight to bed still in awe of the amazing night I had had. This truly had been a night to remember.


	23. Chapter 23: Morning Walks

Chapter 23: Morning Walks and Eloquent Speeches

"BEEP! BEEP!" I heard my alarm clock ring. I looked at the time and groaned. Why does 4:45am have to exist as a time for people to wake up in the morning? Rolling out of bed, I remembered what today was, and suddenly, all my sleepiness was gone. It was my first day back at work, and Toshiro-taicho said he had a new job for me today. I was super excited, but super nervous. I quickly got dressed in a new uniform that Rangiku-chan had given me. It was just like the one I had before, only this one had the short skirt. I smiled and pulled out some pink tights so I could feel like I could move more freely without flashing anyone.

After getting dressed and pulling my hair back into a high ponytail, I headed out the door and to work. It was a long walk from the Ukitake manor to the Tenth division, but since I woke up early, I could take my time. It was only around 6am when I left the house. I decided to take a walk around the Seireitei, considering I didn't have to be at work until 9am.

The Seireitei was truly a beautiful place. I walked up to the first division and then began walking through each division; however as I was walking past the first division, I saw the road to the Kuchiki manor. It was so tempting, but I didn't want to seem stalkerish so I continued my walk on the main roads. There were very few people out, but those who were would start to whisper when they saw me. It got especially bad when I was walking near the noblemen houses.

"How could Kuchiki-sama really be interested in a girl with such awful scars? It's not becoming of a noble," I heard some ladies huff. Ouch. That hurt, but I kept walking. I could not let them see me sweat. "Maybe she blackmailed him," another woman said. "Keep walking, Shinkiro," Aisuhime said comfortingly in my head. I decided I'd do one better.

"Ohayo gozaimasu (Good morning)! How are you both this morning?" I said pleasantly with my friendliest smile. They looked at me in shock, and then nodded and smiled nervously and said "fine!" in sync. I nodded in return and continued on my walk. I continued my walk a ways before I sensed a familiar spiritual pressure appear beside me.

"That was rather impressive. You handled that better than most nobles I know," Byakuya said calmly as I turned to look at him. I smiled sheepishly. "Well, I figured snapping wouldn't have made you look any better, and I'm trying my best to not to make things worse for you," I answered honestly, "And to be honest, seeing the shocked looks on their faces was worth it. When did you start following me anyways?" I stared at him accusingly. His face went slightly red.

"I sensed your spiritual pressure as I was getting ready for work and was curious as to why you were on this side of the Seireitei," he said looking to the side slightly. I smiled and grabbed his hand. "I'm glad you did. I was just going for a walk since I was so early for work," I explained with a smile, "I love taking walks." "As do I," he replied calmly. We began walking hand in hand around the Seireitei.

"Shinkiro, I want to say something about what those nobles said earlier," Byakuya said as we were walking. I looked to the side nervously. Oh no… Here it comes. He put his hand on my back and began tracing my scar softly with his hand. I flinched. I most certainly was not used to that, and we were in public. What was he doing? "Your scars," he started calmly, and I felt myself tense up even more, "They are a sign of how strong you are. They are a part of your past, and a reminder to me and everyone who sees them that we are in the presence of someone who has truly seen hell. And that you survived. If anyone disrespects that, it is simply because they are intimidated by your strength." I felt myself tearing up, and I turned to Byakuya and gave him my biggest smile. "I like this guy, Shinkiro. We should keep him around," I heard Aisuhime say in my head, and I agreed.

Bykuya looked at me and stopped. He grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face him. "You are beautiful. Scars and all," he said sincerely with a small smile that was just for me. I felt my face turn red, and he pulled me into his arms protectively. I had never been happier. "Um, Kuchiki-sama, you do know you really shouldn't be with such a scarred and poor girl. It's not appropriate for someone of your status," I heard a noble say as she grabbed my arm and pulled me from Byakuya rather roughly and pushed me to the ground.

I looked up at her. She was gorgeous, and I bet she was much much closer to Byakuya's age than I am. She had long straight platinum blonde hair and deep blue eyes which she was batting in Byakuya's direction. She was wearing a blue silk designer belly shirt and a short, tight black skirt. Byakuya looked annoyed and before he could say anything, I pushed myself off the ground and dusted myself off. "If I were you, I'd stay down, peasant," the girl said threateningly with an arrogant smirk. I couldn't help it. She pissed me off. "Well, if you were me, you'd also be dating Byakuya. However, you are not me, so if you could move along, that'd be great," I retorted calmly. Her mouth dropped, and I couldn't help but smirk when I saw a quick smile grace Byakuya's face. He was about to laugh! Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted by the collar of my uniform.

"You little bitch! Do you know who I am?! I am Ai Kazaya from the famous Kazaya clan!" the girl I now knew to be Ai yelled in my face. This girl was getting on my nerves, and I was already feeling sarcastic so… "Hajimemashite (Nice to meet you), Ai-sama. Watashi wa Shinkiro Ukitake desu (My name is Shinkiro Ukitake)!" I said in my friendliest voice.

Then, she surprised me. She punched me, in the face, very hard. I should have seen that coming, but I also should have been able to block it. I fell to the ground, and she got on top of me and began to continually punch me. However, I did not fight back because I didn't want any nobles to see me beating another one.

Suddenly, I felt her weight come off of me. I looked up through swollen eyes to see quite the crowd around us, and Byakuya holding the girl up by her designer shirt. Many members of the crowd began to look at me with eyes of pity and disgust. I heard things like "wow, she's that weak. No wonder she has so many scars," and "she's obviously not strong enough to make up for her peasant status." This was getting ridiculous. I felt my blood pressure rising and with that, I unmasked my spiritual pressure as I stood up. The crowd went silent.

"I did not fight her," I said calmly, but loudly enough that everyone could hear me, "because of the spiritual pressure difference. It is beneath me to fight an unworthy opponent and dirty my hands over something so obsolete. Fighting over a man is not befitting of any lady, be she peasant or noble. Kuchiki-taicho has made his decision, and her fighting me does not dictate his choices. Yes, I have scars, not because I am weak, but because I was strong enough to survive the situations in which I received these scars." With that, I grabbed Byakuya's hand and started flashstepping away.

"Your speech was rather impressive, Shinkiro," Byakuya said when we got far enough away from everyone, "Come with me to my office. We need to treat your injuries." I nodded, knowing I didn't have much of a choice. We got to the office, and he turned and locked the door. It was still only 8am, and I know for a fact Renji-san wouldn't be early. My thoughts were interrupted by Byakuya grabbing my face softly and dabbing some wet gauze on my cuts. I hissed at the stinging pain of the antiseptic.

"Why did I let her do this to you?" Byakuya said in a very angry and concerned voice. I smiled smally at him. "I-I'm okay, Byakuya. I've been through so much worse," I said comfortingly. He looked at me annoyed. "That does not make me feel better, Shinkiro. I'm supposed to protect you now. Why did you let her do this? I know you are stronger than this," he asked with a sad tone. I smiled without humor.

"If I had fought back, it would have only ended badly for the both of us," I responded softly, "It is not befitting of any woman to fight over a man. I truly do believe that." I looked up to see him with a small smile. "Your speech really was eloquent. I do believe you shocked every single one of those nobles, including me. And I am not an easy man to impress, Shinkiro," he responded seriously. My smile grew, and I got on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

He smiled back and finished treating my injuries. I looked in a mirror and sighed. I had a pretty hefty black eye for my left eye and I had several bandaged cuts including my left cheek and forehead. I'm just glad she didn't break my nose. One thing is for sure, Oto-san is going to be pissed. I looked at the time. Shit! It was 8:45am, and I had to get across town. Byakuya kissed me softly on the forehead.

"Please come visit me at my manor tonight," Byakuya said softly, "I'd like to cook dinner with you." I nodded happily, and shunpoed all the way to work with a big smile on my face. Work was going to go so slow today.

I made it in and looked at the clock. 8:55am. Yes, I'm still early! My excitement disintegrated when I saw the look on my captain's face. "What the hell happened to you?!" Toshiro-taicho asked angrily.


End file.
